Chef Jose Garces’ Baja-inspired culinary journey with Buena Onda grows with soon coming new establishments and a makeover for its flagship restaurant.
Along with the new mission that he has given to his Volver restaurant at the Kimmel Cultural Campus with its introduction of new, diverse chef collaborations, Chef Jose Garces has recently had other broadening ideas for other spaces within his interlocking chain of brand-name spaces. Take what he is calling his four new Buena Onda locations beyond its Baja Peninsula-on-Fairmount roots.
The first two will hit the suburbs of Radnor for spring, as well as the Rittenhouse’s area at South 20th’s Tinto room next to Village Whiskey.
“There is a lot of confidence to what we have going forward,” Garces told me of an idea that he and his team conceived – one where growth is built into a concept most formidable, durable, interchangeable and tasty.
“After the first Buena Onda officially opened, that brand was always meant to be the expansion brand for us,” says Garces. “Look, I have been cooking Mexican food in Philadelphia since 2003 at El Vez. I opened Distrito in 2008. I always felt as if there was a gap in the marketplace for this.”
The “this” being the taste of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula and his famed, environmentally conscious seafood tacos, classic tacos, Buena bowls, nachos, guacamole, chips and salsa, rice and beans, churros and more. “This also being fresh, authentic Mexican fare with a restaurant focus and served in a fast casual way.”
Since the first Buena Onda opened at 1901 Callowhill for indoor dining, take-out and delivery, the Garces team has been sitting on a winning brand. “The partnership that happened with Ballard Hospitality in 2018 had Buena Onda firmly in mind because they had the resources and expertise in growing a fast casual brand,” says Jose Garces. “I was excited to align myself with them and do this together.”
During C-19, the take-out/delivery/dine-in service model for Buena Onda exploded. “The pandemic proof is that people came to us, they enjoyed this menu,” notes the Chef. “We make our own tortillas, in-house with freshly milled masa and propriety flour. That is essential to our fillings. Our cooking for everything we do at Buena Onda is exemplary, an elevated experience.”
And with that, the time and energy to expand Buena Onda’s physical plan is now, with a re-do at its Fairmount Ave’s flagship space (“new furniture, a new look”), a fresh space in Radnor for the Spring, and a switch-out with South 20th Street’s Tinto Pintxo and its Basque edible/wine shop for a second new Buena Onda with two additional locations to come in 2022.
“We looked at the floor plan next to Village Whiskey and realized that we could make an easy, fast transition there for a new Buena Onda,” says Garces. “We will be able to serve more meals. The old Tinto was a dinner-only space with a wine shop. Now, we can serve lunch and dinner at the new Buena Onda, and serve 14 meal periods, rather than just five. Turning Tinto into a wine shop with small bites too is exciting and we are looking forward to moving Tinto into a new home relatively soon.”
As for the new Buena Onda at South 20th, this one-time darkly intimate rowhome will get brighter and roomier as the space is built out. “We’re going to get very creative with how we handle the new Buena Onda. We love that space.”
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