House of Birria opened in June at 330 E. Colorado Ave. in downtown Colorado Springs, taking over the space previously occupied by Roots Café, a Hawaiian-themed restaurant that had operated there for nearly three years. The restaurant centers its menu on birria, a slow-cooked Mexican dish.
From a California Road Trip to a Colorado Kitchen
The restaurant is co-owned by Maria Blue and Trey Blue, who told The Gazette they became interested in birria after trying it on a trip to California. The Gazette describes traditional birria as beef, lamb or pork cooked for about 16 hours in a chile-and-spice broth. House of Birria serves the meat in tacos and quesadillas, over rice and in other forms, with cooking broth available alongside some meals.
The Blues have owned businesses for 20 years, including hair-extension, clothing and vintage stores, as well as two restaurants, according to The Gazette. Their other restaurant, The Mactory, serves gourmet mac and cheese and opened in 2022 at Bijou and North Spruce streets. The couple’s two grown children now operate that location while Maria and Trey run House of Birria.
Limited Kitchen, Single Focus
House of Birria keeps its menu focused, a choice the owners attributed to the kitchen’s limited space in The Gazette’s report. They said both restaurants emphasize scratch-made food and fresh ingredients. In a review cited by the paper, Michael Villarreal described the birria as flavorful and properly cooked, with ingredients that seemed fresh.
Maria Blue told The Gazette the couple leased the 330 E. Colorado Ave. space when it became available. She said they hope the restaurant will honor the Mexican food tradition associated with the family-run taco shop that occupied the address for decades. The couple would also like to open more Mactory and House of Birria locations as business grows, she said.
A Downtown Address With Deep Roots
That address carries history. El Taco Rey, opened in 1976 by Rosemary and Edumenio “Eddie” Aguilar, had operated under the Aguilar family for decades at the spot before its run there ended. Accounts of exactly how long vary: the Gazette's 2026 report describes a 40-year family tenure, while an earlier 2024 Gazette story put the figure at 45 years. The timing of the closure is similarly inconsistent across coverage — the 2026 article states the permanent closure was announced in early January 2022, following the death of matriarch Rosemary Aguilar months earlier, while a photo caption in the Gazette's 2024 story dates the closure itself to Sept. 20, 2021. Colorado Public Radio reported in 2020, before the closure, that El Taco Rey's menu had not changed since it opened in 1976.
The Aguilar family has not vanished from the local food scene. The Gazette's 2024 coverage reported that the family planned to revive El Taco Rey as a food truck called The Rey, with twin sisters Jana and Judy set to take over as owners and a promise to bring back all the original made-from-scratch recipes.
Downtown turnover and The Rey
Downtown businesses were opening and closing in the years around House of Birria’s arrival. According to The Gazette’s account of the Downtown Partnership’s 2025 report, 37 businesses opened downtown that year, including 20 food, beverage and entertainment venues, while 15 businesses closed. The Aguilars’ planned successor was a separate operation from House of Birria: KKTV reported that the family’s food truck, The Rey, opened June 29, 2024, at Heritage Pentecostal Church in Colorado Springs.
Hours, Ordering and the Fine Print
House of Birria is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Customers can order online at houseofbirria.toast.site/order or call (719) 452-0236, according to the restaurant's Toast ordering page, which also notes the restaurant charges an additional 3% for credit card payments.
