Phoenix restaurateurs head south to build new tortilleria and restaurant

Culinary power couple Armando Hernandez and Nadia Holguin are obsessed with finding ways to take every element of their restaurants up a notch. Often, that means finding a way for their team to make items from scratch. By taking over a vacant Tucson tortilleria, the owners behind Tacos Chiwas, Cocina Chiwas and other popular Valley restaurants are one step closer.

At Tortillas Chiwas, the team will produce freshly-made organic flour and heirloom corn tortillas for all their restaurants. But this won’t be just a production facility. Hernandez and Holguin’s team will also open an intimate 30-seat restaurant. Hernandez does not currently have a timeline for starting production or opening the restaurant, as they await final county approvals. 

The James Beard Award-nominated chefs and restaurateurs currently operate a metro Phoenix tortilleria that produces tortillas for their taquerias and other eateries, including Espiritu and Bacanora, which they run with chefs Roberto Centeno and Rene Andrade. Adding the Tucson tortilleria will allow them to quadruple the number of tortillas they make, Hernandez estimates. 

“There’s a lot of beauty where you make food in general, especially Mexican food,” Hernandez says. “Our taqueria is where we always want to have a better product.”

The building, located on Grand Avenue and Delaware Street in Tucson’s Barrio Hollywood, was home to the Grande Tortilla Factory for more than 60 years. The factory closed in 2009, and La Tortilla took over the space. Hernandez estimates La Tortilla closed late last year. Now, he’s excited to revive the space and restart the presses.

“I love buildings that have a legacy behind them and trying to continue that,” Hernandez says.

The building is also outfitted with equipment to handle the nixtamalization process, which turns whole corn into masa. Currently, the restaurateurs use heirloom masa. Now, they’ll buy yellow and blue heirloom corn directly from farmers and make their own masa on site.

With more capacity, they’ll be able to sell tortillas, too, Hernandez says. That’s something customers and chefs alike have requested for years, but they haven’t had the ability to offer.

More than a tortilla factory

The restaurant will be an all-day affair, with a menu showcasing items made in the tortilla factory. The Tortillas Chiwas menu will feature gorditas, quesadillas and burritos for fast-casual daytime service. During dinner, customers can expect a small, seasonal, chef-driven menu, Hernandez says, with items such as tostadas and ceviches.

The kitchen, bar and dining room are only about 800 square feet, Hernandez estimates.

“It’s a very intimate space,” he says. “You’ll be able to see us cooking right in front of everybody.”

Hernandez says their aim with Tortillas Chiwas is to create a “fun destination for people.”

While much is still in development, Hernandez says it’s “fucking scary” but exciting to expand their footprint outside the Valley for the first time. Entering an Arizona city known for its rich culinary history, Tortilla Chiwas will open just across the street from the James Beard-nominated Barista del Barrio.

“We lead with our hearts and the story that comes with this building already,” Hernandez says. “The goal is to be in service of the community and hopefully add to what’s already here, because there’s amazing food already. We just want to be part of it.”

Tortillas Chiwas

914 N. Grande Ave., Tucson