Alex Stupak's Opening An Empellón In Midtown

Alex Stupak, who runs the Empellón empire, has always been a Downtown restaurateur—Taqueria in the West Village, Cocina in the East Village and Al Pastor just a couple of blocks away.

This fall, he'll hop the subway and head uptown with his tacos to open Empellón (no subtitle) at 53rd and Madison, in the heart of Midtown. "It is aiming to be our mothership, so to speak," he says. "It just happens that it's [happening] retroactively."

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Stupak's staying quiet on most of the details—because they're far from set, he says. But a few things are certain: The space will be twice as big as Taqueria, and it's the first time he'll get to design a restaurant from the ground up, as the space is coming to him bare. The restaurant will also be a bit higher end than the others in the group. "I don't see it being fine dining" he says. "But . . . I feel like it's time to take a bit more risk." Still, there will be tacos.

Empellón should open sometime toward the end of the year, so stay tuned.

Find Empellón Al Pastor here, or in our DINE app.
Find Empellón Taqueria here, or in our DINE app.
Find Empellón Cocina here, or in our DINE app.