A piece of Mexico City is coming to Roseville. Tacos, quesadillas and churros, anyone?

Mexico City restaurant La Popular is opening its first U.S. location in Roseville on Nov. 21, bringing its rib eye steak tacos, cheese-crusted quesadillas and churros to Gibson Drive.

Why is Roseville first for the upscale taqueria concept, ahead of other locations that are scheduled to open next year in Austin, Texas and Southern California?

It has to do with the success of Eureka! in Roseville, which is also located on Gibson Drive and is part of a sit-down chain connected to La Popular.

Eureka! Is known for its hamburgers, 30 U.S. beers on tap and small batch whiskey and for making lots of money for its owners.

Eureka! opened in Roseville in November 2019 and quickly became one of the top revenue producing locations in the 26-unit restaurant chain, said Paul Frederick, founder of the Eureka! Restaurant Group.

Mexico City restaurant company Grupo Carolo, which owns the two La Popular restaurants in Mexico City, invested in the Eureka! Restaurant Group shortly after Eureka! opened in Roseville, Frederick said.

He said La Popular, is being constructed right next to Eureka! to take advantage of the success of its sister restaurant.

Frederick said the collaboration between the two restaurant groups resulted in a new overall company called Rockets + Pineapples.

The company will also be developing other restaurant concepts in 2023 including Electric Pickle, which will emphasize pickleball.

It is unclear whether the Sacramento region will get an Electric Pickle location.

Frederick said Roseville’s demographics have resulted in success for Eureka! and should help boost La Popular: a growing area, upscale residents and a demonstrated pattern of people who like to eat out.

“Roseville has proved to be a very strong market for many of the national restaurant chains,” said Frederick.

Roseville’s 147,773 residents in 2020, the Census Bureau said, was up 24.4% from a decade earlier, the fastest growing community in the Sacramento area when combined with next door Rocklin.

Income levels are also up. Roseville saw a median income of $95,519 from 2016 to 2020, up 15.2 % from 2011 to 21015, among the highest in the Sacramento region, show the census bureau’s American Communities Survey.

While the Sacramento region has plenty of Mexican restaurants, Frederick insists La Popular will be different and stand out.

“It’s not like traditional Mexican food as we know it,” he said. It’s very international. There’s flavors from all over the world that are bundled into the way they do things,” he said.

Frederick said the restaurant will have a full-menu, but that tacos will be a mainstay.

“Tacos are very, very popular as they are everywhere, from Taco Bell to our new restaurant, LaPopular,” he said. “We do them very unique, the cooking features a lot of sauces.”

The restaurant will serve about 80 different mezcals and tequilas in addition to Mexican beers.

La Popular brags on its website in Mexico City that it is the best taqueria in Mexican City, a bold claim for a major international city full of taquerias.

“To me, Mexican cuisine is so much more than food; it encompasses the country’s sense of community and place,” said Eduardo Gomez, CEO of the new combined restaurant group said in a statement.

The first La Popular opened in Mexico City in 2020.

Grupo Carolo owns 27 restaurants in Mexico City under various brand names.

This story was originally published October 20, 2022 at 5:30 AM.