Comal 864 will be taking over the Woodside Bistro location at 1112 Woodside Ave., giving its signature “frontier food” its first brick-and-mortar location.
The pop-up food concept has been operating out of The Whale, Fireforge Crafted Beer and other local breweries for nearly two years, offering up a menu of tacos, quesadillas, birria, nachos and tortas.
Woodside Bistro will remain in the location through July before moving to a space within the Woodside Mill site down the road.
Comal 864 owner Dayna Lee said she expects to move in by September.
“The goal we’re really focusing on is making it a community space,” Lee said. “I want to be able to serve that community and the people that are already here.”
The menu will focus on breakfast and lunch options during the week, with dinner available Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Breakfast will focus on “Texas-style breakfast tacos,” while lunch options will include a full selection of tacos, quesadillas and Mexican street snacks. Lee said she also wants to feature “platillo” lunch plates, or weekly specials.
“That’s something fun I’m looking forward to,” Lee said. “Having the space to be able to do something that’s different every week.”
Comal 864 channels the culture of Lee’s hometown of Brownsville, Texas, a city at the southernmost tip of the state on the U.S-Mexican border. As a child, Lee grew up helping her grandmother in the kitchen, stripping the thorns off of juicy nopal cactuses or draping homemade tortillas over the flames.
She brings that style of cooking to her menu.
“It’s very much frontier food, border-city food,” Lee told the Greenville Journal last year.
With the new location, she wanted to expand that sense of community beyond the food. By the end of the year, she hopes to set up a community pantry and library and she said she encourages those living close by to reach out for jobs.
“Because the focus is community-oriented, I’m looking to hire people who are in the community, people who can walk to work, second-chance hires if they’re close by,” Lee said. “I want to be able to serve them with more than just our food.”
Comal 864’s hours are still subject to change, but Lee said she expects to be open Monday through Saturday for breakfast and lunch, with dinner available on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The restaurant is closed on Sundays.
