Cacao Restaurante

Cacao Restaurante was a locally owned modern-Mexican restaurant, a partnership of Kansas City restaurateurs Ivan Marquez and Victor Esqueda (the owner of Ixtapa), that opened in Prairie Village, KS in March 2016 and later relocated to 1046 W 103rd St in the Watts Mill Plaza in south Kansas City, MO — the space it later used as the production hub for the Taco Cacao food truck. The 103rd Street location has since closed; Mexico Lindo KC took over the space in March 2024.

Description

Cacao Restaurante served modern Mexican cuisine — “refined plates of modern Mexican specialties along with comforting street food favorites” — with an emphasis on preparing dishes the traditional way they are made in Mexico rather than in a Tex-Mex idiom.¹² Signature plates included a Cacao steak rubbed with chilies and cocoa powder, mole enchiladas built on a chocolate-based sauce, and a modern jicama/shrimp taco, alongside street-food staples.¹ The restaurant opened in Prairie Village, KS in March 2016 and later relocated across the state line to 1046 W 103rd St in the Watts Mill Plaza (former Applebee’s space) in south Kansas City, MO.¹³ While operating at 103rd Street, its kitchen served as the prep/production hub for the Taco Cacao food truck launched by the Esqueda family in 2021.⁴

Ownership and history

Cacao Restaurante was a partnership between Kansas City restaurateurs Ivan Marquez and Victor Esqueda.¹ Esqueda is the owner of Ixtapa (opened 2004 with partner Alejandro Hernandez) and the operator behind several KC Mexican ventures, including the earlier Frida’s and Guadalajara Cafe, and later the Taco Cacao food truck.² The kitchen was led by chefs trained in Guadalajara, Mexico who had also cooked in New York; the specific head-chef name is reported inconsistently across sources, so it is left unresolved here.¹

The restaurant opened in March 2016 on 95th Street in Prairie Village, KS, and later moved to the former Applebee’s space at 1046 W 103rd St in the Watts Mill Plaza on the KC-Missouri side, just east of State Line Road.¹³ During its 103rd Street run it doubled as the commissary/production hub for the Esqueda family’s Taco Cacao taqueria-on-wheels.⁴ The 103rd Street location has since closed; Mexico Lindo KC opened in the same space in March 2024.³

Menu

Last verified: unverified · Source: press coverage · URL: n/a (business closed) · Confidence: Low

Reported signature dishes include a Cacao steak rubbed with chilies and cocoa powder, mole enchiladas made with a chocolate-based sauce, a modern jicama taco with shrimp, pico de gallo, mango and chipotle cream, plus street-food tacos (including birria) and other regional Mexican plates.¹⁵ Itemized menu and pricing were not captured before closure.

Links

• Facebook (archival): https://www.facebook.com/cacaokc/
• Instagram (archival): https://www.instagram.com/cacaokcrestaurante/
• Note: former own-domain cacaokc.com is dead (redirects to an unrelated site) — do not link.

Sources

Footnotes

1. 1 Dapper Latino — “CACAO in Prairie Village.” https://1dapperlatino.com/cacao-prairie-village/ — asserts: Cacao is a modern Mexican restaurant serving dishes the traditional Mexican way plus healthier veg/seafood options; owners/partners Ivan Marquez and Victor Esqueda; chefs trained in Guadalajara who also cooked in New York; opened March 2016 in Prairie Village on 95th Street; signature Cacao steak (chili & cocoa-powder rub), mole enchiladas (chocolate sauce), jicama tacos with shrimp/pico/mango/chipotle cream, and street-food favorites; turquoise-and-grey interior. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

2. The Pitch — “Ixtapa’s Victor Esqueda wants to change our expectations of Mexican cuisine” (Jan 2021). https://www.thepitchkc.com/ixtapas-victor-esqueda-wants-to-change-our-expectations-of-mexican-cuisine/ — asserts: Victor Esqueda owns Ixtapa (opened 2004 with partner Alejandro Hernandez; second location July 2020) and “also runs Cacao and the previous restaurants Frida’s and Guadalajara Cafe”; launched Tacos/Taco Cacao food truck ~Feb 2021 at 79th & Wornall; regional-authentic (not Tex-Mex) philosophy. ↩ ↩²

3. The Brazen Gourmets (chuckeatskc) — “Kansas City Restaurant Openings, Closings, and News – March 2024.” https://chuckeatskc.com/kansas-city-restaurant-openings-closings-and-news-march-2024/ — asserts: “Mexico Lindo KC opened this week at 1046 W. 103rd St. This in the former Cacao Restaurant and Applebee’s space in Watt’s Mill Plaza, on the north side of 103rd Street” — i.e., Cacao Restaurante had closed at that location by March 2024. ↩ ↩² ↩³

4. Feast Magazine — “Taco Cacao, a new taqueria on wheels…” (June 2021). https://www.feastmagazine.com/travel/kansas-city/taco-cacao-a-new-taqueria-on-wheels-offers-birria-street-tacos-burritos-and-more-in/article_03c1cc3a-c4af-11eb-b2a1-a7e1b13a7671.html — asserts: Taco Cacao is a sister/offshoot of Cacao Restaurante (103rd & State Line), where most of the truck’s food is prepped before finishing at the truck; Alfonso Esqueda named an owner of the truck. ↩ ↩²

5. Tripadvisor — Cacao Restaurante, Kansas City. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g44535-d15048481-Reviews-Cacao_Restaurante-Kansas_City_Missouri.html — asserts (weak corroboration): Cacao Restaurante operated at 1046 W 103rd St, Kansas City, MO; contemporary/modern Mexican with street tacos and birria; located in an unassuming strip-mall (Watts Mill) space. ↩