A Columbia Five Points restaurant for tacos and tequila has closed its doors
A spot for tacos and drinks in one of Columbia’s key entertainment districts has officially bid farewell.
Arroyo Tacos + Tequila, located at 819 Harden St. in Five Points, has permanently closed, owner Steve Cook confirmed to The State. The business has had a note on its door and a Google listing tabbing it as temporarily closed in recent months.
The restaurant initially opened in Aug. 2024, and offered a menu featuring tacos, quesadillas, loaded nachos, enchiladas, taco salads and other offerings. Arroyo also had a bar menu that features margaritas, draft and bottled beer, tequila flights and wine.
Before it was Arroyo, the space at 819 Harden St. had previously been home to Southern Bell BBQ, which closed in 2022.
Cook is the executive vice president of the Foundry Group, the hospitality organization that has a number of restaurants under its umbrella, including Ember Steakhouse in Lexington, Saluda’s fine dining establishment in Five Points, State Pizza on Beltline Boulevard (no relation to this paper), Cafe Strudel in West Columbia and, in a recent purchase, Pasta Fresca in Forest Acres.
Arroyo, however, was not under the Foundry label, Cook told The State on Thursday.
“I decided to close Arroyo,” Cook said. “We started that before Foundry really existed, or at least before I was a part of Foundry. It was kind of a side project, and once I had all of this (with Foundry) going on, it didn’t fit the thesis of what we were doing, and I just decided to close that.”
This story was originally published March 19, 2026 at 12:16 PM.
