Swell Taco in Patchogue closes due to pandemic, restaurant staffing shortages
Shrimp tacos at Swell Taco in Patchogue. Credit: Daniel Brennan
Swell Taco has ridden its last wave in Patchogue. The popular Southern California-inspired taco joint is ending its five-year run on Main Street, citing a confluence of the pandemic and staffing shortages leading to the closure. Swell Taco's original Babylon location remains open.
"We are unable to provide the Swell Taco experience and service you all know and love," read a message posted Monday on its website and Instagram account announcing the closure of the restaurant's second location. The owners did not return calls for comment.
Run by the sister-brother due Brooke Jankow and Steve Zoerner, Swell Taco took Babylon by storm in 2012 when it opened in an easily-missed location down an alleyway behind the storefronts along Deer Park Avenue. Crowds packed the tiny space for its short menu of bargain-priced tacos and margaritas, driving waits for a table up to 45 minutes or more until renovations and expansion to an indoor-outdoor dining room could better meet demand. Then came the second location in Patchogue in 2017, a narrow bar-restaurant with a rear outdoor courtyard trimmed with surf-and-skateboarding gear and the same upbeat, fun-loving vibe.
When the coronavirus pandemic shut down restaurant dining rooms in 2020, Swell consolidated its takeout business to the Babylon location before eventually reopening in Patchogue and resuming its food truck-catering business.
