Padraic Markle, co-owner of Sweet Bay Cafe and Red Star Taco Bar, is serious about tequila. Behind the bar sits a selection of over 50 tequilas, all made with three essential ingredients: water, yeast, and matured agave. They also have a wide selection of mezcal and agave spirits available.
“Six to eight years of Mexican sunshine in a glass,” Markle says, describing the time it takes for agave to mature.
Photograph by Isabel Hyde
The spark for Red Star Taco Bar came while Markle was living in Guadalajara, Mexico. While there, he noticed that hot dogs, hamburgers, and chicken wings—culinary items heavily associated with the United States—were prolific across Mexico. This inspired their kitschy but fun (as Markle puts it) menu. While you can order a more traditional taco, the menu also has room for experimentation, featuring tacos such as the deluxe bacon cheeseburger taco, the butternut squash taco, the Philly cheesesteak taco, the Korean barbeque taco, and the Idaho taco—which for any Idahoans out there, involves a baked potato instead of a tortilla.
Troy Krajewski, co-owner of Sweet Bay Cafe and chef for Red Star Taco Bar, explained he can’t eat anything without the thought, “Can this effectively become a taco?”
And while their flavors may be non-traditional, they find a way to make it work. Everything Red Star Taco Bar serves, aside from flour tortillas, is scratch-made in house.
Red Star Taco Bar opened on Oct. 15, 2024, and is open seven days a week, from 3-10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 3 p.m.-12 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
1327 N. State St., Bellingham, 360.919.3665, redstartacobar.com
