Pinches Tacos Shutters at Downtown Container Park
A longtime fixture in the Downtown Container Park, Pinches Tacos, has closed after 12 years of operation.
Pinches Tacos had pretty good tacos, but it was more about the incredible name.
The “official” reasons for closing are awkward, so you know damned well we’re going to get into it.
Like all the businesses in the Downtown Container Park, Pinches Tacos was in (wait for it) shipping containers.
Pinches Tacos was one of our go-to lunch spots when we worked at Fremont Street Experience.
Staff was friendly, the prices were reasonable and the food was solid, especially the Mexican street corn. Which, in Mexico, is just “corn.”
There was also Mexican Coke. Which, in Mexico, well, you get the idea.
Nobody’s talking about Pinches Tacos. Poor Pinches Tacos. Bonus: Mexican Coke. @DTContainerPark pic.twitter.com/omjuiGKv8T
— Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) August 6, 2020
Oh, so the name.
“Pinches” can be interpreted several ways in Spanish.
The restaurant says the name means “cook’s assistant” or “kitchen helper,” which is factually accurate, but that’s not why it’s called Pinches Tacos.
In the past, the owners have said the restaurant is named for a story their grandmother told about their uncle Pinche who cooked for Pancho Villa. This, as they say, is “mierda de caballo,” or “shit of the horse.”
“Pinches” is a vulgarity. It can be used to express frustration, anger or disdain. It’s like adding the word “fucking” to whatever’s being described, for emphasis. It’s like “bloody” if you’re British.
“Pinches” is a very versatile vulgarity. Our Spanish-speaking casino friends use it to describe tight slot machines.
Unclear if Spanish is permissible anymore, but a member of our Ellis Island gambling family (“gamily”™️) taught us a fun word, “pinches,” as in “Pinches machines!” There’s a Pinches Tacos downtown, so we assume it means, “A loose slot machine of superior reputation and quality.”
— Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) March 8, 2025
If you still don’t get what “pinches” means, let’s use it in a sentence: “Alex Meruelo es un pinche pendejo.” A “pendejo” is an asshole. So, this would translate as “Alex Meruelo is a fucking asshole.”
So, Pinches Tacos means “fucking tacos.” Which, it’s worth noting, was legal in Nevada until 2017. As was bestiality. We are not making that part up. We are also not making up the fact we always thought it was spelled “beastiality.”
It’s fun to learn new things!
But the irreverent name isn’t why the closure of Pinches Tacos is awkward.
A rep for the restaurant, in speaking with local media, stated the reason for the closure is “economic factors, including decreased visitation, tariffs and immigration concerns.”
Those concerns are legitimate, of course. It’s just weird when it’s used as an excuse for a business at Downtown Container Park closing.
In an interview with KLAS, Javier Anaya of Pinches Tacos said, “Our Latina community is afraid to get out, and you know, in downtown, that’s the highest demographic when it comes to people.”
Hey, we feel for the Latino community. What’s happening in America right now is insanity (immigrants make America great), but saying the Latino community “isn’t coming out anymore” smacks of grasping at straws.
Anaya also mentioned “a sharp decline in foot traffic, high operating costs and post-pandemic economic pressures as contributing factors.”
That’s all legit, although “high operating costs” in a shipping container? Everything is relative.
Anaya goes on to talk about “the recession,” “inflation” and “declining tourism” and a drop in people from Canada.
We’re going to go out on a limb: The drop in Canadian visitation did not tank Pinches Tacos.
Canadians make up just 3.6% of our town’s total visitor mix.
The percentage of tourists who visit the Container Park is approximately .0006%.
Anyway, drama aside, it’s a bummer to hear about Pinches Tacos closing.
Downtown Container Park is a holdover from the days when Tony Hsieh was subsidizing everything downtown. Since his passing, much of his legacy has slipped away.
Oh, yeah, we spotted him in a neighboring restaurant after a visit to Pinches Tacos that one time.
If you simply must have Pinches Tacos, you can visit its other location in Las Vegas, near the intersection of Russell Road and I-215.
If you’re looking for tacos in the Downtown Container Park neighborhood, there’s a taco truck outside Park on Fremont, La Mona Rosa (previously La Comida), Nacho Daddy across from Neonopolis, Cadillac at Golden Nugget and a new bar with Mexican eats, Taco Escobar, on Fremont East. Oh, and don’t sleep on Wana Taco at Four Queens or Chef Paco’s Alebrijes, a new Mexican restaurant at Neonopolis (where Crash N Burn used to reside).
We knew all those off the top of our head! If that doesn’t give pinche blog energy, nothing does.
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