Fort Collins-area restaurants that opened in 2023
At least 40 restaurants, bars, breweries, food trucks, bakeries and coffee shops opened in and around Fort Collins this year. Here’s the rundown.
An east Fort Collins taco stop has officially closed up shop.
Wedo’s Tacos & Tequila shuttered in mid-December, darkening its doors in Fort Collins’ Jessup Farm Artisan Village where it had opened a little more than a year prior.
The space had formerly been home to Italian eatery Cacciatore at Heller’s Kitchen, which was opened by business partners Mick Occhiato and chef Troy Heller in 2017. Cacciatore at Heller’s Kitchen shuttered the flagship Fort Collins location in the fall of 2022, with Heller citing the restaurant’s small size and labor issues at the time.
Heller and Occhiato soon pivoted to open Wedo’s Tacos and Tequila in its place, serving up tacos, Mexican dishes and margaritas in a more casual setting. Wedo’s debuted in Jessup Farm last November.
Occhiato confirmed the end of Wedo’s Tacos and Tequila in an email to the Coloradoan earlier this month, citing “personal reasons” for its closure.
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Due to many of its employees being Colorado State University students — and requesting time off during the school’s winter break — Occhiato said the decision was made to close Wedo’s in mid-December instead of waiting until the end of the year.
Two former Wedo’s Tacos and Tequila employees, who spoke to the Coloradoan under the condition of anonymity, claimed the staff was not warned about the closure and were caught off guard just before the holidays.
In response, Occhiato said the majority of the restaurant’s staff “were not surprised at all about the closure” when contacted about Wedo’s closing down.
“The timing for closing down was good for both the restaurant and the majority of our staff.”
Heller did not respond to the Coloradoan’s requests for this story.
