Soon, fans of La Condesa Taco Shop, the contemporary Mexican cafe in Central Phoenix, will need to get used to calling the restaurant by its new name: La Santisima.
Felipe Guzman, who owns La Condesa with wife Christina, tells me having to change the name of his three-year-old restaurant was difficult, and that the decision came about after discovering La Condesa was trademarked by another company.
"I could have done things differently," Guzman says, "but I wanted to save a lot of problems for everybody."
Perhaps most notably, a second location of La Condesa, er, La Santisima, that's coming soon to Glendale.
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Guzman says the new name is a nod to Santísima Muerte, a variation of the female folk saint Santa Muerte, commemorated during the Mexican holiday Día de Muertos, or Day of the Dead.
Located at 5932 West Glendale Road (Glendale and U.S. 60), the Glendale La Santisima, Guzman tells me, will be a little larger than the Phoenix location and will have more parking. He hopes to open this month.
Although the name is changing, Guzman assures me the food will not. Like the Phoenix restaurant, the Glendale location will mimic the original's outstanding salsa bar, hearty horchatas made with fresh fruit and pecans, and an affordable menu of specialty tacos, quesadillas, and burros. There will be a full bar at both locations.
