Downtown taco turmoil: Sinaloa and El Rico Taco are gone, but Tacolicious To Go opens Tuesday at 111 W. Market Street in New Albany.

Last week all traces of El Rico Taco disappeared from Destinations Booksellers (604 E. Spring St.), and that's too bad. They were friendly people and their food was quite good. I'll remember those tamales for a long while.

It's worth remembering that even in such a restaurant incubator setting, eatery owners need operating capital to get through the first six months to a year. Goodbye, El Rico Taco. It seems we hardly knew ye.

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Once upon a time the occupant of the storefront at 111 W Market (between Firestone and Hitching Post) was Aladdin, which moved to Underground Station and is still serving great Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food.

Then came La Tiendita, which appeared to have two sets of owners, both of them charming and family-oriented.

However at some point earlier this year Tiendita seemed to have been targeted (literally) by a hostile takeover, resulting in the emergence of El Sinaloa.

The latter was closed for a while owing to licensing issues and never seemed to gain traction. Now it is gone, and according to the signage there's a new occupant as of tomorrow (Tuesday, August 27): Tacolicious To Go -- apparently not to be confused with the San Francisco mezcal bar.

And that's about all we know, for now.

LIVE TO EAT: Downtown food and drink update: La Tiendita, Cafe 157, Gospel Bird, Double Barrel and Longboard's.

The following survey of downtown New Albany food and drink is not intended to be comprehensive, but merely an overview of past days' browsing.

La Tiendita (111 W. Market) recently expanded its menu. What I've tasted so far has been wonderful, and they're as grassroots/family/indie as it gets.

New hours have been announced at Cafe 157 (157 E. Main Street).

Eric Morris from Gospel Bird has news, and in response, my waistline preemptively expanded.

ANNOUNCEMENT EVERYONE:

For the past nearly 3 years we've made a lot of changes to different styles of cuisine and tried to push the boundaries of what good southern-influenced food can be.

We've listened to your feedback and we'd like to get Gospel Bird back to its southern roots. Next week we will start developing a menu that represents our goals in the beginning:

No frills southern comfort food cooked with love. Fried chicken, country ham, BBQ of all sorts, fried green tomatoes, grits, gravy, etc. with a smiling and comforting service staff!

All the wonderful things we brought you in the beginning will be coming back at prices that are honest and fair. Thank you for all for your continued support and we are truly blessed and thankful to be in such a great community.

Peace, love, and bacon grease- Eric and the gospel bird team.

Double Barrel Bourbon Bar (147 E. Main) will be down by the riverside during Harvest Homecoming.

Longboard's Taco & Tiki closes this update with new lunch hours ...

... and a brilliantly subtle sidestep.

LIVE TO EAT: Hull & High Water's lunch hours debut on December 11, and other tidbits from the New Albany food and dining scene.

More on Hull's Monday oyster special here.

Hull & High Water has been playfully hinting at new lunchtime hours, and now it's official ... as of December 11. That's next Monday, folks.

Starting December 11th, we will officially be OPEN FOR LUNCH! As some of you may have guessed it! We are bringing back a convenient style of luncheon to New Albany, Indiana with counter style service.

Counter style service lunch allows you to come up to the counter, place your order, pay, and receive a number. One of our food runners will come out very shortly with your food hot and fresh. Get it to go or stay with us and enjoy the atmosphere. You asked for it and we are bringing it to you! Stay tuned for our lunch menu launch later this week!

Cafe 157 offers this helpful reminder about meals and theater.

TheatreWorks is in production, SO dinner this week Tues-Sat 5-8, 157 E Main. Beef Ramen, Banh Mi, Salmon with maple bourbon glaze, Roasted Chicken with mushroom cream sauce, shrimp n grits and more. Drink specials!

A few weeks ago, a few pieces more of Dragon King's Daughter's prospective shift to new digs came before the Board of Works.

Dragon King's Daughter in New Albany preparing new site, by Chris Morris (N and T)

A New Albany restaurant will be moving to a new home early next year. Dragon King’s Daughter will be leaving its current location at 202 E. Elm St. and move to 129 W. Market St.

Ryan Westphal said Tuesday after the New Albany Board of Public Works and Safety meeting that the move will come “in the first quarter” of 2018.

The board of works approved Dragon King’s Daughter for outdoor seating along the sidewalk facing West Market and First Street, improvements to the building’s facade which will include a canopy to the new restaurant, according to architect Ron Stiller.

Also in the local chain newspaper, some fine (and heartwarming) ink for Israel's.

Israel's Delicias de Mexico owner goes viral after son makes loving post, by Danielle Grady

Son makes loving post

All Christian Landin wanted for Christmas was for his dad to get some recognition. He ended up giving him internet fame — and some real life fans.

Christian’s father, Israel Landin, is the owner of Israel’s Delicias de Mexico restaurant on Market Street in New Albany, which opened in 2014. (Previously, Israel owned La Rosita, which closed in 2012) ...

... Christian decided to make a post about Israel on the website, Imgur, where users share pictures of anything and everything — from humorous memes to snapshots of their daily lives. On Imgur, other people can give the photo “points” or make a comment ...

... Christian made the post and went to bed, thinking it wouldn’t get any attention. When he woke up, he couldn’t open his phone at first because of all the notifications. As of press time, Christian’s post had been viewed 224,473 times and had received 8,211 points.

Three additional recent posts at NAC:

Renovation and restoration: From Love's Cafe to Good Times to ... well, a building both old and new.

THE BEER BEAT: One excellent afternoon spent pub crawling with beer on the periphery of the wine walk.

La Tiendita on Market evolves; more of a restaurant, less of a grocery, and with plans to stay put -- and that's good.

La Tiendita on Market evolves; more of a restaurant, less of a grocery, and with plans to stay put -- and that's good.

I'm pulling for this independent family-owned business.

Previously on January 31, 2017:
A hearty welcome to La Tiendita ("the little shop") on Market, at 111 W. Market, where Aladdin used to be.

It's the real deal, and highly recommended by the Confidential household.

The lunch crowd loves this New Albany Mexican restaurant, by Danielle Grady (Jeffersonville Noise and Tribunal)

NEW ALBANY — La Tiendita on Market wasn’t supposed to be a restaurant.

Daniel Martinez, 22, opened the New Albany business as a Hispanic grocery store in January, something he thought the area needed.

But the small space, previously home to Aladdin’s Cafe, is situated neatly next to several large downtown places-of-work: the City-County Building, the Lee H. Hamilton Federal Building/U.S. Courthouse and more.

Soon, Martinez was bombarded by requests from walk-ins for food.

A hearty welcome to La Tiendita ("the little shop") on Market, at 111 W. Market, where Aladdin used to be.

I completely missed this, but you should know that La Tiendita on Market is open today. The Facebook page has more information as well as numerous photos of what appears to be a mom & pop grocery (with stock ranging from produce to toilet paper) with taqueria-style food offerings.

This is exciting! Welcome and best of luck to the owners.