Vegan diners will have another option for plant-based fare near the University of North Texas with the opening of Pepitas Vegan Taqueria on Hickory Street this month.
The eatery, originally known as Pepitas Vegan Cocina, first opened next to Milpa Kitchen & Cantina in October, sharing a building but maintaining separate dining spaces. The restaurant’s popularity led the Landeros family, who own and operate Milpa and Pepitas, to pursue a longtime desire to give Pepitas its own space, expected to open July 23.
“That has been our goal for Pepitas was to be its own storefront and have its own vibe, its own energy, and that’s what we’re doing with it now,” co-owner Jorge Landeros said.
Jorge’s brother, Edgar, who will run Pepitas, has been vegan for more than six years. The new space, located at 1115 W. Hickory St., Suite 113, will offer an expanded menu with a focus on Tex-Mex and Mexican comfort foods like tacos al pastor, picadillo and empanadas. It’s a chance to celebrate the traditional, authentic Mexican cuisine of the Landeros’ childhoods and bring a unique food experience to Denton’s vegan scene, Edgar said.
“We’re trying to replicate recipes that we all grew up with as a Spanish family,” Edgar said. “We have the same mentality of doing stuff from scratch and we’re a small family, so our parents help bring the real authentic recipes and we kind of tweak them.”
The Landeros began work on the new space in May. Pepitas will feature lots of white and pink and plenty of greenery to maintain the restaurant’s fresh, modern ambiance. The storefront will also mean kitchen staff has more room for experimentation as they get feedback from customers.
“The kitchen is huge at Milpa, but I think it will give us a lot more room to play with our own recipes and keep growing,” Edgar said.
Just off Fry Street and the UNT campus, the Hickory location is a better fit with Pepitas’ demographic, Jorge said, and will be more accessible for those in the heart of Denton. Ownership does not plan to remain open for the late-night Fry Street crowd, operating 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and staying open until 10 p.m. on weekends, but they are not ruling out expanded hours for the future.
For now, the Landeros are focusing on bringing Pepitas into its own, in its new home.
“I think it will be awesome having really culturally authentic vegan food — I don’t think we have that here in Denton,” Edgar said.