Tako Cheena is packing up its wok and heading back to where it all began. The Orlando taco shop announced Thursday that it's leaving its corner spot at 948 N. Mills Avenue to return to 932 N. Mills Avenue, the original storefront where the late-night fusion concept first opened in 2011.
The restaurant framed the move on social media as, in its words, the Ultimate Throwback Thursday move, but local reporting points to a less sentimental reason behind the shift. According to Orlando Shine, Tako Cheena's lease at the corner of Weber Street and Mills Avenue was not renewed by the property owner after 12 years there, forcing the relocation up the block. As Bungalower reports, Tako Cheena moved into the corner building — a former Forbidden City Chinese Restaurant space — back in 2019, and its original 932 N. Mills storefront was handed off to sister concept Pop's Pizzeria in the meantime.
Pop's Pizzeria, which occupied that original address, has since closed to clear the way for Tako Cheena's return, per the same Bungalower report. Permits for restaurant work at 932 N. Mills Avenue were reportedly filed earlier this year, suggesting the homecoming had been in motion for months before Thursday's announcement.
A Space With Deep Mills 50 Roots
The corner building Tako Cheena is vacating carries its own history. Before Tako Cheena arrived in 2019, the site at 948 N. Mills Avenue — situated in a former gas station structure — was home for more than 27 years to Forbidden City Chinese Restaurant, a neighborhood fixture that closed in late 2014 after its lease expired; the property had been purchased by Jeffrey Phillips in January 2014, according to Scott Joseph's Food & Travel.
Tako Cheena's own story on Mills Avenue goes back even further. When it first opened at 932 N. Mills Avenue in 2011, the restaurant ran a bare-bones late-night operation, serving fusion tacos for $2.81 and empanadas for $1.75 each until 4 a.m. on weekends, without even a landline phone or a finished website, per Scott Joseph's Orlando Restaurant Guide. Hoodline once ranked the original location among Orlando's three favorite spots for affordable empanadas.
From Nobu's Kitchen to Orlando's Streets
Tako Cheena's chef at its 2011 opening was Pom Moongauklang, who is also the creative force behind Pom Pom's Teahouse & Sandwicheria. Moongauklang was born in Thailand, raised in Orlando, and worked at high-profile venues including Robert De Niro's Nobu and Lucky Cheng's before returning home to build her own concepts, according to FOX 35 Orlando.
Her broader restaurant portfolio has shifted considerably in recent years. Pom Pom's Teahouse & Sandwicheria, which opened in 2005, later relocated to Sanford, and in December 2025 Moongauklang publicly announced she had cut ties with a rebooted Pom Pom's location in Sanford over unauthorized menu and brand changes, as reported by Bungalower.
The City of Orlando has described Mills 50 as having the highest concentration of Michelin-recognized restaurants in Orlando. The district is also associated with Orlando's Main Street program.
In its Instagram announcement, Tako Cheena thanked longtime customers and local artists for their support over the years.
What's Next for the Corner Spot
Once settled back into its original address, Tako Cheena plans to continue serving its signature mashup of Asian and Latin flavors, including inventive tacos, Korean burritos, empanadas, and late-night eats, across lunch, dinner, and late-night service. The restaurant has not announced an official opening date for the new location.
It's unclear what will take over the now-vacated corner building at 948 N. Mills Avenue, across from Wally's Tavern, where Tako Cheena has operated since 2019. For now, the restaurant is simply celebrating the return to its roots. As the article's narrator relayed her mother's take on the move, home is where the tacos are.
