Lucy's Taqueria for sale

[terracore]

"rental circumstances arose and discouraged potential buyers"

There's a story there somewhere.

[kalakoa]

There's a story there somewhere.

I would bet it's related to the story about how Lucy's went from zero to open in 45 days, something about "right people" and "a phone call". Pretty sure that option isn't included in the lease.

Unrelated example: both Luquin's-in-old-Freddy's and Ola-taproom-in-old-Wiki-Fresh should be open by now; in most jurisdictions, "change restaurant into different restaurant" only takes a few weeks, especially if the former restaurant was a recent build.

[Obie]

"change restaurant into different restaurant"

The hearing for the liquor license is May 6th for Luquin's, Ola and Kaleo's.

http://records.hawaiicounty.gov/weblink/...Page1.aspx

[Ccat]

Poncho's is at the site of the old Luquin's in Pahoa on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

https://panchostacoshawaii.square.site/?...sOKw5zR25A

Sometimes they are there on Fridays (they go to HPM in Hilo about half the Fridays) , and sometimes they aren't there at all.  Definitely check out their FB or web site before heading over.  A few weeks ago they took a week off for "ohana" and it was clear on their web site but somebody might have been disappointed if they didn't check before driving over there.

"What's the.best thing they make?"

I like the chile relleno plate when they have it, the burrito especial (add sauce), the burrito bowl, the quesadillas, but there are many items I haven't tried.  Each option has ~10 sub-options for selecting different meats / vegetarian / vegan, I haven't eaten my way through all of those either.  We weren't especially impressed with the enchiladas or tacos, but that is a personal preference sort of thing.  I recommend ordering online because it helps me navigate their menu (changes frequently) and all the options, and the fact I can't interpret Spanish words on their menu at the truck, and they turn off online ordering pickup window times when they aren't there.  Also I ordered their special from online menu and they had an "out of stock" sign on it at the truck, but they were able to fill my online order.  They don't start preparing online orders even if you pre-pay on web site until you show up, though it allows you to skip to the front of the line (different window for online orders) so it still makes getting food a lot faster.

The food DOES vary quite a bit in taste, saltiness, and consistency.   I don't know if that is an ingredient or quality control issue but we have had a few duds that were huge wins before, but nothing that would prevent me from going back.  It makes me wonder if we got their enchiladas on a dud day.



Their 10 sub-options for putting into things like tacos, burritos, etc:

Vegan
Veggie
Pollo (Chicken)
Al Pastor ( Pineapple Pork)
Barbacoa (Shredded Beef)
Carnitas (Shredded Pork)
Chile Verde (Green Pork)
Chorizo (Ground Mexican Sausage)
Carne Asada (Thin Chopped Steak)
Lengua (Beef Tongue)

Almost forgot to add, this is the only place I've had Mexican food where the beans and rice were so good on their own I ordered more separately. Normally I consider them practically to be a bland garnish, but here it tastes like.... food.

[leilanidude]

Sometimes they are there on Fridays (they go to HPM in Hilo about half the Fridays) , and sometimes they aren't there at all.
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This is the exact problem with every single food truck on this island. "Sometimes"... There is no consistency to any of these truck's schedules. It is as if the owner is saying, "Sometimes my business is open and sometimes it isn't."

[terracore]

To their credit, they do keep their web site updated with their hours and location before they change them, except that one time they had to close unexpected because a wind storm blew their tarp off.

I tried stopping at the taco truck by Orchidland and the guy told me they were sold out of everything. It would have been nice if they took their signs down.

[eightfingers2.0]

Has anyone eaten at Umeke’s in the Safeway parking lot?

[AaronM]

Sometimes they are there on Fridays (they go to HPM in Hilo about half the Fridays) , and sometimes they aren't there at all.
-----------
This is the exact problem with every single food truck on this island. "Sometimes"... There is no consistency to any of these truck's schedules. It is as if the owner is saying, "Sometimes my business is open and sometimes it isn't."
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HAWAII TIME HOURS

OPEN: 9 or 10 Sometimes 11
            Mostly 12 or 1

CLOSE: 5 or 6 Sometimes 4
              Mostly 2 or 3

Closed for: Big surf
                    Luaus
                    No like work

[TomK]

Surely someone deciding to live here would have researched this stuff already, right? This isn't the mainland, it's Hawaii.

If you can't find a place to buy lunch, just make your own sandwiches or find another place that sells them. BBQ something on the beach, cliffs or catch your own fish. There are plenty of other places to buy food if you're so hungry and your favorite truck is unavailable.

[Obie]

Since this post was originally about Lucy's closing, My wife saw the owner in Safeway and found out she is moving to Volcano and is going to open a Mexican Restaurant there.
The restaurant was started to provide Lucy with a collage education and she headed off to collage, so mission accomplished.

The original location was always a problem because of the lack of parking.