Veracruz All Natural is opening its newest Austin location at 626 N. Lamar Blvd., moving into the space vacated by Garbo's Fresh Maine Lobster with a target opening date of December 1. The new spot will serve the brand's signature tacos and fresh juices alongside a freshly added coffee and in-house pastry program, with an indoor dining room, picnic tables out front, and a walk-up window for takeout and online pickup orders.
The address became available after Garbo's closed its North Lamar restaurant on September 26, 2026, following its decision not to renew a three-year lease, according to CultureMap Austin. Garbo's had operated that address since 2023 with a walk-up window and outdoor seating area, running it alongside a larger Mopac location and a fleet of mobile food trucks. Notably, Garbo's was also founded by a trio of sisters - Heidi, Sam, and Hannah Garbo - making this handoff one sister-led Austin food business passing the keys to another.
From a Snow Cone Cart to Eight Locations
Veracruz All Natural was started by sisters Reyna and Maritza Vazquez and has operated for more than a decade, according to the Austin American-Statesman. The brand now spans eight locations across Austin, including two sit-down restaurants, four food trucks, and a walk-up window downtown, per the same report. The new North Lamar address will push that footprint even further into one of the city's busiest retail corridors.
The sisters' story began modestly: they launched the business in 2008 as a small East Cesar Chavez trailer selling snow cones and natural juices, later upgrading to a larger truck to cook tacos in 2010, according to Voyage Austin. In those early days, the sisters reportedly slept on the floor of their original trailer during operating shifts just to keep the doors open. That scrappy origin stands in sharp contrast to the brand's current standing - the Statesman lists Veracruz as a recurring contender in its own best-taco rankings, and the business has earned the Michelin Bib Gourmand designation three times.
A Growing Hospitality Footprint Across Austin
Veracruz's expansion beyond food trucks picked up steam with Veracruz Fonda & Bar, the sisters' first full-service sit-down restaurant, which opened at 1905 Aldrich St. in Austin's Mueller neighborhood in April 2023 and was named in honor of their mother's former restaurant in Mexico, according to Tribeza. That restaurant retained its Michelin Bib Gourmand status in the October 2026 Texas Michelin Guide after first earning the honor in 2024, per the MICHELIN Guide. The Mueller location also launched with an in-house coffee bar run in partnership with Austin-based Desnudo Coffee, a model the sisters now plan to expand at the new Lamar site, as Axios reported at the time.
The Statesman notes that the Vazquez sisters also opened La Mezca Mezcalería in 2025 and debuted their newest outlet at Leona Botanical Café & Bar in South Austin the same year. Hoodline previously reported on groundbreaking for that 5-acre garden park venue on Brodie Lane in Sunset Valley, a partnership between Veracruz and Thai concept Dee Dee that preserves existing natural habitat while planting 70 new trees.
National Recognition Alongside Local Growth
The brand's reputation extends well beyond Austin. Food Network named Veracruz's Migas Originales taco - scrambled eggs, tortilla chips, avocado, pico de gallo, and Monterey Jack cheese piled into a tortilla - the fourth-best taco in the United States and the top breakfast taco nationwide back in 2015, according to CultureMap Austin. More recently, Reyna and Maritza Vazquez published their debut cookbook, Veracruz All Natural: Fresh Mexican Recipes From Our American Home, with Simon Element, compiling family recipes that trace back to Veracruz, Mexico, as the Los Angeles Times reported.
The Statesman reports that more details on the North Lamar opening are expected soon, with the target date still set for December 1. For now, the new location adds another data point to a trend Hoodline has tracked across Austin's food scene: mobile vendors graduating into full storefronts, a path Cuantos Tacos is following as well. With Michelin recognition, national taco acclaim, and a cookbook already in hand, the Vazquez sisters' move into the old Garbo's space reads less like a test of a new market and more like a brand simply scaling into one of Central Austin's busiest corridors.
