You’ll find margaritas, golf at new restaurants taking over a familiar Tacoma location
A Mexican restaurant with regional ties and a sports bar with TrackMan golf simulators have opened in Tacoma’s Stadium District.
Expect lots of margaritas, several slushie cocktails including a piña colada, enchiladas and beef barbacoa on one side and a pozole meets Par 3 pub food on the other, featuring a hatch green chile burger and a Tijuana-teased Caesar salad.
Poquitos replaces Rhein Haus and Stadium Golf supplants Wally’s Wisconsin Tavern, both located through the doors of 649 Division Ave. Owners Weimann-Maclise Hospitality closed the Tacoma outpost of their Bavarian-themed restaurant in May after five years; in 2021, the group split the vast space in two, bringing cheese curds and Hamm’s beer to the southern portion.
The coveted 1,000-square-foot patio overlooking the new Link extension and Wright Park belongs to Poquitos, an established brand with two restaurants — one that opened in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood in 2011 followed by a Bothell expansion in 2018. Chef Kelly Wilson, a Southern California native who led the Rhein Haus and Wally’s kitchens, worked closely with Poquitos original and now executive chef Manny Arce on the Tacoma menu.
It’s equipped for sharing, starting with classic apps ($7-$18) of guacamole, a trio of salsas and jalapeno queso served with house chips fried in rice oil, and moving to a rockfish and shrimp cocktail, fried esquites and chicken tinga tortilla soup. Taco plates ($14.50-$17) offer al pastor, chile shrimp and baja fish with rice and beans, while mains include the brand’s signature chile verde with braised pork shoulder and carne asada to wrap inside a warm tortilla.
The restaurant — with a refinished bar top, fresh paint job and new lights — provides several vegan options, such as its popular vegan pozole verde and a coconut panna cotta. For dessert, seasonal paletas and churros land at just $3.
Cocktails are integral to the theme here, with five margaritas, a caipirinha and paloma but also other tequila-focused options, like the Manhattan-esque Alabanza made with anejo. Thanks to Rhein Haus’s beer focus, an extensive draft system remains intact, now pouring everything from Modelo Especial and Negra to regional spins on Mexican-style lagers and a few sours. On the non-alcoholic side, there will always be agua frescas, horchata and Mexican Coke.
“We put a lot of love, craft and research into our menu,” said Wilson. “I’m excited to bring Poquitos and Stadium Golf to Tacoma.”
THE ALL-NEW STADIUM GOLF
The team also has invested in the brand-new, family-friendly concept of Stadium Golf, creating six “studios” — accommodating up to six guests — with Trackman golf simulators.
Leading the golf side of the business is Lindsey Gullikson, who played collegiate golf at Metropolitan State and the University of Denver before joining the staff at Chambers Bay Golf Course in marketing and communications.
“I have big plans to make Stadium Golf an integral part of the Tacoma golfing community,” she said in a press release. That could entail offering tournaments, leagues and membership-based specials, no matter your skill level. “Our goal is to make Stadium Golf ‘Tacoma’s 19th hole.’”
Some holdouts from the space’s Wisconsin tavern days remain, including Big Buck Hunter, shuffleboard and pull tabs, as well as the sports-bar vibe. That sentiment spills into the menu a bit, too, which honors that history with cheese curds, bratwurst and the beloved Rhein Haus pretzel ($6-$15).
Because Stadium Golf and Poquitos share one kitchen, the sports-bar theme leans into Southwestern territory. Both offer guac, nachos, pozole and a burrito, for instance. Golf-only specials include beer-battered fish and chips with house tartar, a “Par 3” wrap with grilled chicken or steak and a tower of carne asada fries ($15-$18).
In addition to wine and beer, a short but thoughtfully themed cocktail menu from bar manager Austin Dobbins brings some classic cocktails to life — the great Rob Roy (Scotch and sweet vermouth) and a minty Tom Collins, for example.
Both spots are in “preview” mode with walk-in service only. They anticipate expanding hours to seven days a week and adding reservations for dinner and the golf bays later this year.
POQUITOS TACOMA
▪ 649 Division Ave., Tacoma, 253-572-4700, poquitostacoma.com
▪ Wednesday-Sunday 4-9 p.m. (until 11 p.m. Friday-Saturday)
▪ Details: Mexican food and cocktails with house salsas, margaritas and seafood; dinner only, weekend brunch coming soon
STADIUM GOLF
▪ 649 Division Ave., Tacoma, instagram.com/stadiumgolftacoma
▪ Wednesday-Sunday 4-9 p.m. (until 11 p.m. Friday-Saturday)
▪ Details: sports bar plus six TrackMan golf studios; walk-in to start, reservations on the way
This story was originally published July 29, 2022 at 2:42 PM.