Food and Drink

Charlotte restaurant with ‘best tacos al pastor’ opening soon in Mooresville

Key Takeaways
Key Takeaways

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  • La Michoacana expands to Mooresville with a new location opening in August 2025.
  • Owners Gabriel and Hilda Manjarrez serve family recipes from Michoacán, Mexico.
  • Menu includes handmade tortillas, tacos, barbacoa, tamales and food by the pound.

Gabriel and Hilda Manjarrez promise “the best tacos al pastor in Mooresville” at the soon-to-open second location of their popular Charlotte family restaurant.

So boasts the large wording on a front window of La Michoacana Taqueria y Tortilleria, across from Walmart Supercenter off Interstate 77/N.C. 150 exit 36.

Gabriel Manjarrez was installing kitchen equipment when a curious CharlotteFive reporter visited the former Pacheco’s Tortilleria y Grill.

He and his family are from Michoacán, the west-central state in Mexico that borders the Pacific Ocean, Manjarrez said. Michoacán has the best tacos al pastor in Mexico, he said. And the menu at the couple’s restaurant is based on his family’s recipes from that area, he said.

Owner Gabriel Manjarrez poses outside the soon-to-open Lake Norman location of his family’s popular Charlotte restaurant.
Owner Gabriel Manjarrez poses outside the soon-to-open Lake Norman location of his family’s popular Charlotte restaurant. JOE MARUSAK jmarusak@charlotteobserver.com

La Michoacana’s Charlotte location opened in 2020 on Nevin Road, off West Sugar Creek Road. The Mooresville location is expected to open in late August, Manjarrez said. 

The couple lives in Huntersville. Their daughter, Karina, is designing the interior and handles La Michoacana’s social media channels, Manjarrez said. 

The menu includes tacos, tortas, carnitas, barbacoa, chicharrón, quesadillas, burritos, tamales, pupusas, menudo and guiso del dia, or stew of the day, all made with fresh ingredients and meats. Its gently pressed, authenic Mexican corn tortillas are handmade daily.

Conida por libra, or food by the pound, also will be available for purchase.

La Michoacana Taqueria y Tortilleria

Locations: 5400 Nevin Road, Charlotte, 28269

Location: 168 Norman Station Blvd., Suite Z, Mooresville, N.C., 28117 (opening late August)

Menu

Cuisine: Mexican

Instagram: @michoacanataqueriaytortilleria

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Joe Marusak
The Charlotte Observer
Joe Marusak has been a reporter for The Charlotte Observer since 1989 covering the people, municipalities and major news events of the region, and was a news bureau editor for the paper. He currently reports on breaking news. Support my work with a digital subscription
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