From a Food Truck to a Riverside Tequileria: Carlitos Just Opened Its Flagship in North Arlington

From a Food Truck to a Riverside Tequileria: Carlitos Just Opened Its Flagship in North Arlington

Every restaurant has an origin story. Most of them are polished up for the press kit. This one is better because it is simple: in 2017, Carlos Castillo started smoking barbecue and stuffing it into tacos on a food truck. Nine years later, that truck has a flagship.

Carlitos Tequileria held its official grand opening on September 18 at 185 River Road in North Arlington, following a soft opening that started August 20. The new spot seats 150, making it the brand's biggest stage yet, and it sits right on the Passaic River waterfront.

The space leans hard into its identity. The design is a modern take on the Mexican hacienda, all warm tones and open energy, with a full bar built around agave. Tequila and mezcal lead the program, which is exactly what the name promises. The tequileria concept means the drinks are not an afterthought here. They are half the point.

On the food side, the menu carries the DNA of that original truck: smoked barbecue meats and tacos, the stuff that built the following in the first place. The truck era taught the team what people actually line up for, and the flagship gives that food a proper home with a dining room, a bar, and a riverside setting to match.

The team behind it is a family operation in the real sense. Carlos Castillo and Sabrina Castillo are joined by partners Martin Moliné and Fernando Campo, the crew that took the brand from a single truck to a full sit down restaurant.

For North Arlington, this is a meaningful addition. The River Road corridor has been building momentum, and a 150 seat tequileria with a real bar program gives the area a dinner destination it did not have before. It is the kind of opening that changes what a Friday night looks like in town.

Practical details: Carlitos Tequileria is now open at 185 River Road in North Arlington. The grand opening was September 18, so the doors are open and the bar is pouring. If the truck years were any preview, get the tacos that started it all.