UNO Taqueria Opens Second Lehigh Valley Location in South Bethlehem

BETHLEHEM, Pennsylvania, May 2026 — UNO Taqueria, the family-run fast-casual Mexican restaurant that has built a following in Lower Macungie Township since opening in late 2020, launched its second Lehigh Valley location at 15 E. Fourth St. in south Bethlehem in early May 2026, bringing its full menu of artisan street tacos, birria, burritos and handmade corn tortillas to a new community in the region.

The opening is a milestone for the Montoya family, Samuel, his brother Juan and their father Froylan, who built UNO Taqueria from the ground up at the West Valley Marketplace on Mill Creek Road in Lower Macungie and have been running it as a hands-on, family-operated business ever since. The Bethlehem move takes the brand into the heart of a lively south Bethlehem corridor packed with bars, restaurants and small businesses.

UNO Taqueria Takes Over Former General Zapata and La Kang Space on Fourth Street

The 15 E. Fourth St. address has been home to several dining establishments over the years, most recently La Kang Chicken and Rice, and before that the beloved local Mexican restaurant General Zapata, which closed in late 2024. The Montoyas are putting their own stamp on the space with indoor seating for around 24 guests across booths and banquettes, and a seasonal outdoor dining area on a side patio that will open when weather permits.

Samuel Montoya said the team is also weighing late-night hours on weekends, potentially staying open until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, to serve the after-bar crowd drawn by the neighbourhood's active nightlife, including Molly's, which sits directly across the street. For a taqueria whose food is genuinely suited to late-night eating, the timing could give the new location a distinct commercial advantage in that part of south Bethlehem.

Birria Tacos Lead a Menu Built Around More Than a Dozen Artisan Street Taco Selections

The Bethlehem location carries UNO Taqueria's full menu, with the birria taco, beef stew with fresh onions, cilantro, cheese and a side of broth for dipping, identified by Samuel as the restaurant's top seller. Beyond the birria, the menu offers more than a dozen artisan street taco options, each designed around a specific flavour profile and ingredient combination.

The taco roster includes chorizo, carne asada made with grilled Angus steak, al pastor with marinated grilled pork dressed with fresh onions, cilantro and pineapple, cochina featuring slow-roasted pulled pork cooked in banana leaves and finished with cilantro and pickled onions, a Baja fish taco with beer-battered cod, chipotle coleslaw, mango sauce, avocado mousse and pico de gallo, and a shrimp version with beer-battered shrimp dressed the same way with the addition of pickled red onions.

All street tacos are available individually or in groups of three and are served on fresh, homemade nixtamal corn tortillas — handmade, preservative-free and ground from the masa up in the traditional method.

Tex-Mex Tacos, Gringas and Vampiros Alongside Burritos, Nachos and Desserts

The menu extends well beyond the artisan street taco selection. Tex-Mex tacos come on either soft flour or hard corn tortillas with lettuce, pico de gallo, cheese and the customer's choice of protein. Gringas, open-face flour tortillas with crispy melted cheese and a meat filling, and vampiros, the same concept on open-face handmade corn tortillas, round out the taco offerings.

A wide range of burritos, burrito bowls, nachos, quesadillas, empanadas and flautas covers the rest of the main menu, alongside vegetarian options for guests who want something without meat. Soups include tortilla soup and pozole. Side orders cover rice and beans, queso with chips and esquites, street corn in a cup. Desserts include homemade flan, churros and tres leches.

Weekly specials rotate the menu further, with recent examples including enfrijoladas, corn tortillas with shredded chicken, pinto bean sauce, crema, queso fresca, onions and cilantro, and taco de lengua, a slow-cooked beef tongue taco served with onions, cilantro and lime. The weekly special format gives regulars a reason to come back even when they already have a favourite on the permanent menu.

Montoya Family Also Operates Food Trailers at Events Across the Region

The brick-and-mortar operations in Lower Macungie and Bethlehem sit alongside a mobile side of the business: the family also runs multiple food trailers that appear at public and private events across the Lehigh Valley. The trailer presence has given UNO Taqueria exposure at community events, markets and private functions that a fixed restaurant location alone would not reach, building brand recognition across a wider geographic and demographic base than the two restaurants serve on their own.

Samuel Montoya described the decision to expand into Bethlehem in terms of community rather than purely commercial logic, excited to serve more people in another community was how he put it, a framing that reflects the family-owned and community-embedded character the brand has maintained since its founding in 2020.

South Bethlehem Location Joins a Dense Independent Restaurant Corridor

The Fourth Street address places UNO Taqueria in one of Bethlehem's more active independent dining strips, where a mix of established restaurants, bars and small food businesses have built a destination identity for evening and weekend dining on the south side of the city. For the Montoyas, the neighbourhood is a deliberate choice, the density of foot traffic, the proximity to nightlife venues and the community feel of the south Bethlehem corridor align with the brand's identity as an accessible, quality-driven local taqueria rather than a chain import.

The original UNO Taqueria location at 1042 Mill Creek Road in Lower Macungie Township continues to operate daily from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Hours for the Bethlehem location were still being finalised at the time of the restaurant's opening announcement.

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