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Bartaco Gets Nod To Open Westport Restaurant

WESTPORT, Conn. – Tacos and tequila will be coming to the west bank of the Saugatuck River in downtown Westport. Bartaco, a beach-themed Mexican restaurant, will open this year at 20 Wilton Road after plans for the restaurant received a unanimous nod from the Planning and Zoning Commission.

A Bartaco restaurant will open on the first floor of 20 Wilton Road in Westport.

A Bartaco restaurant will open on the first floor of 20 Wilton Road in Westport.

Photo Credit: File: Vanessa Inzitari

Bartaco will occupy the first floor of the building, which boasts large windows overlooking the Saugatuck River, and will feature a U-shaped bar and an outdoor patio, according to the plans. The restaurant signed a lease last fall for the space, formerly the home of Peter Coppola salon and spa.

The second floor of the building will be used as office space.

Operated by the owners of the popular Barcelona restaurant group, Bartaco opened in 2010 in Port Chester, N.Y. The Westport restaurant will be the fourth location and the third to open in Connecticut with others in downtown Stamford and West Hartford.

The Bartaco menu offers a variety of tacos, such as baja fish, thai shrimp, duck, red snapper, spicy chorizo and, of course, beef. The restaurant also serves rotisserie chicken, small plates, taco trays, rice bowls, sides and dessert. More than 30 kinds of tequila are offered, as well as wines, beers and specialty cocktails.

“Bartaco is an exciting, casual restaurant that addresses the needs of families as well as those of adults,” attorney William Fitzpatrick told the Planning and Zoning Commission at a recent meeting. “This application is another part of the effort by this property owner to create a vibrant presence, if you will, along the west bank of the river.”

Fitzpatrick represents Greenfield Partners, a commercial real estate firm based in Norwalk that owns 20 Wilton Road and the historic National Hall, which is being renovated to house retail space and the new corporate headquarters of Greenfield Partners.

The firm also owns most of the other buildings in the National Hall complex, as well as the parking garage on Wilton Road, which is currently under construction to add a third tier. 

Bartaco will be the second restaurant in the complex, joining Moja, a South American-Asian fusion restaurant that opened last month on the first floor of 12 Wilton Road.

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