Highly anticipated Mexican restaurant in downtown Rock Hill is finally opening
The long-awaited Rock Taco opens this weekend in Rock Hill.
Jason Cloud, who is behind both the new downtown restaurant and the existing Burgers & Barley on Cherry Road, said after a couple of soft opening events Rock Taco will open at 4 p.m. Friday. Hours will start as Wednesday through Saturday, from 4 p.m. to maybe 9 or 10 p.m.
“We’ll see what business dictates from there,” Cloud said.
Rock Taco has been coming soon for quite a while. Groups like Old Town Rock Hill and Visit York County have been teasing an opening there at least since 2021. Rock Taco was one of 32 new or coming restaurants in the area Herald readers picked from this year in “Going Out Bracket,” on online poll that collected more than 10,000 votes.
The 122 E. Main St. address for Rock Taco is the same one McHale’s Irish Pub occupied for years downtown. The popular Irish restaurant and nightlight spot opened in 2004 and stayed through a late 2020 closing.
Cloud said delays were caused in part by workforce changes after the COVID pandemic, the city permitting process and the transition from McHale’s. On the surface, Cloud said, the building initially looked ready to go as a restaurant.
“I basically took the walls down to the brick and redoing the kitchen,” Cloud said.
The Rock Taco menu will stand out from typical Mexican fare, Cloud said. It includes a “shrimp rocktail,” six-ounce tuna, fish and grits, barbecue chicken with mole sauce, salads and three-dip salsas.
Cloud said there will be options for the more budget-focused customer, and also items for guests who would pay a little more for the high-quality food Rock Taco will offer.
“It’s just a little bit above with what we’d be getting from our traditional Mexican restaurants, the Mexican staples,” Cloud said.
This story was originally published November 7, 2023 at 1:18 PM with the headline "Highly anticipated Mexican restaurant in downtown Rock Hill is finally opening."
