Popular Tacoma restaurant moving its bold Mexican flavors to gorgeous waterfront digs
The owners of Indita Mia, one of Tacoma’s best new restaurants that has drawn crowds to an unassuming nook of Commerce Street in downtown Tacoma since December 2022, will open a new eatery in a prominent waterfront location.
Angie and Oreb Apodaca are transporting their menu of tallow-fried quesadillas, chile con carne, vibrant homemade salsas and fresh-fruit cocktails to Thea Foss Waterway. They plan to debut the upgraded Indita Mia at 1715 Dock St. by mid-March.
“Our dream was always to have more than one restaurant,” said Angie Apodaca, “but we had no idea it would happen so soon.”
They will retain the original location at 1126 Commerce St. but under a new name and adjusted menu. Isabella Tacos y Mezcal, named after their oldest daughter, will serve more casual Mexican dishes, they said, in part to accommodate lower prices and lunch business. In addition to tacos, look for tortas and burritos built with the same dedication to high-quality, homemade ingredients.
Meanwhile, on Thea Foss, they have found a location perhaps better suited to the Indita Mia concept.
For more than a decade, the large, bright space was home to The Social Bar and Grill, which closed last year after the founding owners sold it to longtime employees. Pandemic challenges, as well as inconsistencies in food and staffing, collided with construction projects on Dock Street and the 15th Street ramp that connects the area to Pacific Avenue.
With floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the marina and, on clear days, glimpses of Mount Rainier in the distance, it’s an enviable location that deserves to be a destination. Angie Apodaca worried it “might almost be too pretty” for her and her husband, who first toured the space last summer.
They signed the lease before fall and got to work deep-cleaning and designing. As Bruce Barker, the real estate broker who helped facilitate the deal for Thea’s Landing Waterfront Apartments manager Lee and Associates, noted, “The whole vibe of the entire place has changed.”
Despite others imploring them to gut the place, said Oreb Apodaca, “We wanted to use what was there.”
That means the half-moon bar that anchors the center of the space is still there — only now it lies underneath a canopy of woven pendant lights connected to a custom Mexican Madrone “tree” imported from Guadalaraja. The 900-pound trunk, bolted to the floor, arrived in one piece.
From that bar, expect some of the same cocktails made with fresh-squeezed juice that have become popular on Commerce Street, including the spicy house drink with mezcal, hibiscus, serrano, orange and lime. Other highlights range from the Coca Rosa with rum, strawberries, lime and coconut cream to the Oaxaca Old Fashioned that combines mezcal with reposado tequila and bitters. Don’t skip the refreshing, nonalcoholic horchata and pineapple-mint agua fresca.
The couple has imported most decorative and serving elements from Mexico, including handmade woven chairs with a similar traditional floral pattern to the restaurant’s logo and earthenware plates. Seattle-based artist Jose Rodriguez III painted the mural, which covers the entirety of one wall, of an indita with her long hair wrapped in colorful ribbons.
They did make one big change: removing an awkward waist-high wall that created an odd dining area that felt disconnected from the bar and main room.
From the kitchen, fans of the original will recognize most of the menu: guacamole and refried beans served in traditional molcajetes, the wagyu-stuffed Oaxacan tamal and enchiladas in a creamy chipotle sauce. Look also for chicken mole, seafood and salad, said Angie Apodaca.
“We want to cook what we want to eat,” she added, which means everything — down to the sopes, gorditas, tortillas and tostadas — is made in house, a testament to the recipes of her mother and grandmother.
Like the original, they hope to serve weekend brunch at Thea Foss and, when the weather turns, to fill the spacious patio.
INDITA MIA - THEA FOSS
▪ 1715 Dock St., Tacoma, inditamia.restaurant
▪ Tuesday-Friday 4-10 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
▪ Details: Mexican restaurant known for fresh, homemade food has moved to waterfront location (now open); follow instagram.com/inditamia.restaurant for updates
▪ Parking: metered (free after 6 p.m. and on Sundays) street parking plus designated spots in building garage (entrance on north side of building off Dock St.)
LA ISABELLA - TACOMA
▪ 1126 Commerce St., Tacoma, instagram.com/laisabella.tacoma
▪ Tuesday-Friday 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
▪ Details: new menu of tacos, tortas, mezcal, and more from the owners of Indita Mia
This story was originally published February 22, 2024 at 5:30 AM.