Pinche Taqueria, the Wilton Manors outpost of a New York City Mexican restaurant, has closed just shy of its one-year anniversary.
It "was not making enough money to support the business in this area," Stephanie Lee, who ran the Wilton Manors restaurant, wrote in an e-mail. "There will be more in NYC in the future."
The restaurant, it seems, was faltering in late 2012 when a New Times review found run-of-the-mill Mexican fare but a good place on Wilton Drive to hang out and sip cheap margaritas.
For a time, Ron Kerr, who also runs Bite GastroTruck and Bite Catering, ran Pinche's kitchen. Kerr left in early November, more than a month before the New Times visited, because "she [Lee]... couldn't pay me," he said. "We were under negotiations [at the time you wrote the review] so I was unable to be honest [about the restaurant] in hopes to get my money."
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The restaurant's name is a tongue-in-cheek nod to Mexican slang. Pinche translates to a milder version of "fucking" -- the adjective, not the verb. The eatery got its start in lower Manhattan's Nolita district, just north of Houston Street. Independent filmmaker and financier Jeffrey Chartier wanted to open an authentic taco restaurant full of the simple flavors he found while traveling and living in Mexico.
Lee and Chartier worked together in New York finance. A longstanding relationship between Chartier and Wilton Manors Mayor Gary Resnick helped land them a space on Wilton Drive.
Kerr said he'll continue running both Bite operations. Lee, who said she splits time between Wilton Manors and New York, didn't divulge her next move.
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