Cugino Forno owners open Solo Taco at Revolution Mill, sell 1,000 tacos

Solo Taco opened next to Cugino Forno at Revolution Mill and quickly turned heads by selling 1,000 tacos on one of its first days, a strong early signal for a new Greensboro concept from operators who already turned one pizza shop into a multi-market business.

The owners behind Cugino Forno built that confidence over time. The pizzeria first opened in Greensboro in 2017 at Revolution Mill and has since expanded beyond Guilford County to locations in Winston-Salem, Clemmons, Durham, Wilmington and Frederick, Maryland, with Greenville, South Carolina listed as coming soon. That track record helps explain why Joseph Ozbey, Yilmaz Guver and Adam Aksoy were willing to try a taco concept in the same campus where their original restaurant took root.

Solo Taco is operating downstairs from Cugino Forno, while the original pizzeria remains open upstairs. The new space also serves pizza from a wood-fired oven, giving customers a rare combination in one stop: tacos, pizza and drinks under the same roof. WFMY News 2 reported the restaurant was designed to be family-friendly and to serve beer, wine and margaritas instead of a full bar, a format that keeps the operation simpler while broadening the appeal for lunch, dinner and group outings.

The menu is lean by design. FOX8 reported Solo Taco opened with five taco varieties, shrimp, steak, chicken, pork and mushroom, and the tortillas are made fresh to order. What Now Charlotte reported the concept was planned as a one-page menu built around tacos, desserts, a few salads, margaritas and aguas frescas, with local products such as North Carolina shrimp part of the mix. That narrow menu matters in a market where restaurant costs, labor shortages and menu bloat can erode margins fast.

Revolution Mill has become a key piece of that bet. The campus describes itself as a 45-acre historic property with more than 100 businesses, 150 loft apartments, public art galleries, restaurants, coffee shops and greenway trails. Solo Taco is also listed in the social district as a concept that fuses Mexico City flavors with Italian flair, alongside a mural meant to celebrate both cultures.

The timing gives the opening added weight. Solo Taco was tied to a Cinco de Mayo celebration planned for May 5, and its early sales suggest Greensboro diners still have room for well-executed, local concepts in a difficult restaurant market. For Guilford County, the larger story is not just another place to eat, but a local operator using a proven location strategy, a restrained menu and a recognizable brand to test whether one successful model can be translated into another.