The story of the Rojas family is the story of Revolver Taco Lounge. Chef Regino Rojas grew up in central Mexico in a little farming town in Michoacan between the mountains on the border with the state of Jalisco. There was access to the mountains and, via Jalisco access to the Pacific Ocean. This is where his culinary standards truly began. Regino grew up eating food made with local fresh meats, fresh seafood, locally grown vegetables and fruits sourced from the colorful town market. All dishes cooked at home by his mother Juanita were always served with fresh handmade corn tortillas. Every Thursday Chef Regino as young as the age of 8 along with his father and some of his father’s closest friends would go hunting for quail, dove, duck, rabbit and other small wild game in the region. At the end of the day, Regino’s father would light a fire while chatting, clean the bird and prepare a feast in the middle of the woods. This was Chef Regino’s first exposure to preparing and appreciating wild game.
The Story
The other part of this story is that the Rojas family ancestry has a long line of gunsmiths and artistic firearm engraving all the way back to the 1800’s. Regino’s father was a master artistic firearm engraver, his pieces included antique Revolvers with deep relief style scroll work. In 2009 the family relocated to Texas and opened a small firearm engraving studio in the Fort Worth Stockyards. In 2011 the two passions merged, and Revolver Taco Lounge first opened on 7th Street in Fort Worth. This is the story behind the name Revolver Taco Lounge. Revolver represents not only Texas cowboy culture but also the Rojas family.
The concept was simple: traditional cooks on display in an open kitchen to serve tacos and Mexican dishes always with soft handmade corn tortillas; ceviches, crudos, and aguachiles were also featured. Chef Regino was now armed with restless creativity pushing culinary boundaries with traditional favorites and some creative ones like the Octopus Carnitas Taco created in 2012. He is a bold pioneer and visionary in the Mexican dining scene. Revolver Taco Lounge relocated to Deep Ellum Dallas in 2017. Purepecha Room, its back room kitchen table concept was also born at this time. This is where Regino cooks alongside his mother, Juanita; it focuses on showcasing Mexican culture through traditional dishes inspired by his home state of Michoacán, Mexico.
Shortly after opening in Dallas we had no official logo but Jorge R. Gutierrez, famous Mexican animator and writer of projects such as the Book of Life and many other fantastic animated movies, and friend of Revolver gifted us the beautiful colorful logo that you see today. The logo is a coat of arms dedicated to Revolver Taco Lounge and the Rojas family.