Luchador Tacos coming to Auburn

Get ready for some real street tacos. A quick-serve restaurant specializing in East LA-style tacos (Los Angeles, that is) is coming to LA (Lewiston, Auburn)!

Luchador Tacos — Luchador means fighter in Spanish — has leased space at 945 Center St. in Auburn, the former Tripps Farmhouse Cafe, and hopes to open in May.

Luchador Tacos, which has leased space at 945 Center St. in Auburn, aims to open in May and offer hand-cut and marinated carne asada street tacos with homemade salsa verde and red hot sauces. Submitted photo

Katherine Mitchell, co-owner and president of Luchador Tacos, told The Buzz the restaurant is based on simplicity and authentic Mexican recipes.

She should know, growing up in a Mexican-American household in the heart of East Los Angeles. But when she moved to Maine with her Mainer husband, Josh, she found herself driving to Portland to find anything close to Mexican food.

Luchador Tacos has three locations: Paris and Windham, and North Conway, New Hampshire. The Paris location opened in May 2017.

Mitchell said they have three proteins as the basis for all their offerings — steak, pork and chicken. True street tacos don’t come with dairy products like cheese or sour cream, but don’t worry. Mitchell said her husband won that battle and they offer some more “Americanized” dishes as well, adding the goal is to make customers happy. The red and green sauces are homemade and took a while to perfect. The restaurants offer breakfast items as well.

In many cases the prices are comparable or below published online menu prices of similar items at Mexican restaurants in Lewiston and Auburn.

The new space on Center Street will have tables and chairs for a dine-in option.

Museum L-A gets a makeover

The new logo for the former Museum L-A, now called Maine MILL. Submitted photo

By the time you read this, Museum L-A will be no more. The museum is rebranding itself as the Maine Museum of Innovation, Learning and Labor, or Maine MILL. It’s the next step in a long-term plan to build a new museum, rebrand and redefine the mission and vision of the organization.

“Our ultimate goal is to elevate this important history and culture museum into a regional icon,” Rachel Ferrante, executive director of the museum, said. “This rebranding process is a critical early step.”

The museum’s new look and branding will make its debut this week, with a new website as well. A new exhibit will highlight the reopening of the museum and will open to the public Feb. 9. It is called Who We Are/Who Are We?

The interior of the Olive Garden restaurant on Center Street in Auburn is shown Jan. 25. Parent company Darden Restaurants had said it would open in “early 2023.” Submitted photo

No, Olive Garden is not opening anytime soon!

The Buzz (and others) can tell you definitively that the new Olive Garden is nowhere close to opening folks. As others have pointed out, the exterior construction hasn’t even been finished, despite the new sign going up. The kind folks at Darden Restaurants — Olive Garden and Longhorn’s parent company — are in touch with us and will let everyone know well in advance of the opening.

Recent postings on social media suggested, perhaps deliberately, that Olive Garden was ready to open. Let’s hope the photo, which the poster said was from Jan. 25, will lay that talk to rest.

We reached out before the holidays and were told the Auburn Olive Garden will open in “early 2023.” Stay tuned!

The Buzz offers quick hits about trending area business happenings. Have a Buzzable tip? Contact business writer Christopher Wheelock at 689-2817 or cwheelock@sunjournal.com