First announcing two weeks ago that they were opening Julio’s Casa de la Birria in Washington Twp, the family behind the viral-foodie hotspot “Julio’s On Main” in Vineland at that time did not reveal the exact location in the Sewell section of town, for their second brick-n-mortar location.
Today the family provided the final piece of the puzzle, sharing that the upcoming Gloucester County location will be in the Echo Plaza on Fries Mill Road in Washington Township.
In short summary, the first location of Julio’s On Main in Vineland is one of those “it feels kind of like a secret, but everybody knows about it and drives from considerable distances to the locally viral, made to order, delicious, food lovers experience” places!
Everything is made fresh to order at Julio’s, offering delicious tacos, quesadillas and even homemade empanadas and more.
And local foodie writers, publications and social media experts have regularly named Julio’s as one of South Jersey’s best Mexican restaurants.
For the upcoming Washington Township location, they are changing things up slighting as the unit is smaller than the full dining room experience in Vineland.
The name variation of Julio’s Casa de la Birria is a clue towards the menu direction… which will bring the same delicious high quality Julio’s Mexican cuisine to Gloucester County, but in a smaller menu focused on items that can be quickly and deliciously prepared in the space. At this time they have not announced an opening date.
The Echo Plaza shopping center is located at the corner of Fries Mill Road and Hurffville-Cross Keys Road, and has Giant Fitness as its prime tenant. Verchio’s Produce and Deli is across the street from the upcoming quick casual “birria taco and more” restaurant.
More specifically for Julio’s, the shopping center wraps around to the left side and Julio’s Casa de la Birria is taking over a small unit which several years ago was home to Boardwalk Grill and Pizzeria.
While the faded sign for the closed pizza shop is still at the front of the building, inside the unit is completely empty and will require remodeling and new equipment to turn it into a Mexican “must try” hotspot.
Read on for more on Julio’s Washington Twp. Echo Plaza is adding new retailers (and I’ll have more coverage soon). If you are interested in joining Giant Fitness, Julio’s and more… reach out to Tony Curcio of Bennet-Williams
Julio’s On Main & Casa de la Birria – Washington Township
While I had known the location of the new Julio’s for at least a week, I wanted to wait for Cesar and his family to make the announcement… which you can view at their Instagram
On Monday I had a chance to speak with chef and owner Cesar Hernandez about his upcoming Washington Township restaurant… just hours after the final lease details were signed.
Cesar shared with me his plans for the new Echo Plaza location which will bring the family’s delicious Mexican cuisine to Gloucester County, with some smart menu changes.
So to tell the story of Julio’s Casa de la Birria you first need to know a little bit about Julio’s On Main and chef/owner Cesar Hernandez and his wife Christine.
Julio’s On Main in Vineland is one of those local viral restaurant stories where seemingly out of nowhere a new small hotspot appears on the scene and quickly becomes a must visit foodie destination.
But the reality is chef Cesar Hernandez and his wife Christine have 20 years experience in the restaurant industry… and their success comes from hard work, perseverance and being very talented chefs making delicious Mexican food.
An article in the 2019 Daily Journal describes the story how when Cesar and his wife were working a food festival in Virginia and upon realizing they served over 5,000 food items in 2 days… the thought sunk in that they had been working hard to make other people money, and maybe they should start their own restaurant experience.
This led to them first purchasing a food truck, which then quickly progressed into opening a small takeout restaurant in Vineland (2019).
With customers lining up outside to purchase food from Julio’s On Main, earlier this year they moved into a much larger restaurant in Vineland which offers a larger kitchen and a significantly sized dining room!
As mentioned the new Washington Township location is a smaller space than Vineland and while they are bringing the same incredible delicious food to Gloucester County, the menu will be adjusted slightly… focused on things that are better suited for the smaller kitchen and dining space.
As the name indicates, birria tacos will be a big part of the menu experience but they also plan on offering quesadillas, bowls, fresh-made guacamole and more.
Effectively the menu will more closely mimic what they offer at their food truck. Consider that the food truck utilizes it’s smaller kitchen space to create delicious meals which can be prepared more quickly… well that same mindset is carrying over to the smaller kitchen space of Washington Township.
Which I think is a great plan for their second location particularly with the size of the unit!
But if I were the landlord of Echo Plaza I’d try to keep an adjacent unit available for as long as they can as I bet it won’t be long before Julio’s Casa de la Birria is looking to expand!
This is breaking news and I’ll have much more on the new Julio’s as they get closer to opening.
Links and Location
Julio’s Casa de la Birria – Coming Soon
Echo Plaza
309 Fries Mill Road
Sewell Washington Township, NJ
Julio’s On Main
1370 S Main Road
Vineland, NJ