Camacho Garage Opening in New Haven with Mexican Street Food

Camacho Garage, a new restaurant and bar from co-owners Robert Bolduc and Marc Knight, Executive Chef/co-owner Arturo Franco-Camacho and the team behind the award-winning Geronimo Tequila Bar and Southwest Grill,  Shell & Bones Oyster Bar and Grill and Nantucket’s Bar Yoshi, will be opening at 36 Fountain Street (corner of Fountain Street and Central Avenue) in the Westville neighborhood of New Haven, Connecticut.  The restaurant, offering a fun and lively atmosphere with an elevated vintage garage theme, will serve Mexican street food, and a bar menu focused on beer, specialty cocktails, Tequila and other Mexican beverages.

“With the success of both Geronimo and Shell & Bones in three very walkable, suburban areas of Fairfield and New Haven, we’re excited to launch this new concept in a lively community such as Westville,” said Bolduc.  “Our goal is to truly be a neighborhood gathering place, inviting couples, families and friends into a fun environment that’s at the crossroads of this tight-knit area.  Our large indoor dining and bar area will feature garage doors opening to a large outdoor seating area with a fireplace, truly offering a window in the heart of Westville.”

“Having grown up in the area, I’ve loved frequenting the long-standing establishments in this neighborhood over the years,” said Knight.  “Our team understands the strong sense of community in this area, and we’re proud to be new members of this family, bringing our unique flavors, attentive service and of course, new jobs, to this growing section of New Haven.”

Camacho and his kitchen team are putting together an all-day menu featuring an assortment of small plates to encourage sampling of several favorites, with a strong focus on tacos and ceviches.  Other food items will include tostadas, tortas, salads, empanadas and made-to-order guacamole mixed in a large molcajete in the dining room.  Larger plates will be available as rotating, daily specials.  Desserts will include churros, flan and paletas. 

“This is an amazing experience working with my entire team to continue to expand and bring a completely new dining experience to our guests in my adopted hometown of New Haven, where I have been welcomed and supported since arriving in Connecticut in 1995,” said Camacho.  “Personally, this endeavor has brought me back to recipes and flavors that I grew up enjoying in Mexico.  When I was a young boy, my father owned a garage, and when my siblings and I would spend the morning helping him in the shop, he would make us tacos for lunch out of any ingredients on hand.  Between that, and spending time cooking with my mother and grandmother, I learned that ANYTHING can be put in a taco!  For Camacho Garage, not only will I be working with area farmers and providers to source as many local ingredients as possible, but we will be handmaking our gluten-free, corn tortillas daily in our kitchen, and really making the menu friendly for our guests following dietary restrictions – gluten-free, vegetarian and dairy-free.  We also love our younger guests, so are putting together an accessible and fun menu for our flourishing foodies!”

Designer Christian P. Arkay-Leliever is transforming the 4,000 square foot former bank space into a sophisticated, yet fun environment with a vintage garage feel.  Featuring a color scheme of burnt red, vintage green, concrete grey and white, the space will feature an industrial chic look of concrete, wire, glass and steel, with the bar being the central energy to the indoor space.  The bar itself will be steel-top, reminiscent of a vintage workbench, with leather covered machine shop-like bar stools providing seating for 30.  A combination of high and low-top tables and banquettes will provide indoor seating for 78, made of reclaimed oak treated with an antique varnish, with blackened steel chairs with a green leather seat.  Fully opening oversized garage doors will provide an abundance of light into the space, augmented by vintage industrial porcelain lighting fixtures from the exposed ceiling.  Large graphic tattoos will provide brand inspired artwork to the indoor hand applied cement walls, as well as mark the brick outdoor space 

“With the bar being a central spot in our new restaurant, the beverage program will complement the food menu, offering a large selection of bottle and tap beer, including many Mexican bottled favorites, as well as specialty cocktails, tequila and other Mexican beverages,” added Camacho. 

The restaurant will be open seven days a week for dinner, with lunch, happy hour and weekend brunch to launch at a later date.  Takeout will also be launching at a later date, offering a dedicated entrance for pick-up.  Street parking will be available for dine-in guests, as well as a large public parking lot on the corner of Whalley Avenue and Blake Street.

“In light of the current health crisis, we are adhering to all health and safety precautions and orders from the state-level as we work to wrap up construction and operational details,” said Camacho.  “We are working as much as possible behind-the-scenes to be able to publicly open our doors as soon as possible, and while we are just as excited as the neighborhood to welcome our first guests, appreciate everyone’s patience on our announcement for a grand opening date.”

The website is now live – www.camachogarage.com – and will be featuring additional information, as available.