Mexican Restaurant Claims 5,800 Feet on Long Beach Boardwalk

A 5,800-square-foot Mexican restaurant is heading to the Long Beach boardwalk, the latest tenant to commit to B2K Development's mixed-use project reshaping the city's beachfront.

Tulum Tacos and Tequila will anchor one of the ground-floor retail spaces at the development — sometimes called the Superblock project — according to RIPCO Real Estate, the commercial broker that handled the lease. The concept is described as bohemian-chic, built around a menu of modern Mexican cuisine emphasizing fresh, locally sourced ingredients and a full tequila bar program. No confirmed opening date has been announced.

The Long Beach boardwalk has been working to rebuild its commercial base since Hurricane Sandy hit in October 2012, flooding the beachfront and damaging much of its retail and dining infrastructure. B2K's development occupies a prominent stretch of the boardwalk and has been under construction and gradual lease-up for several years. A full-service restaurant at 5,800 square feet is a different category of tenant from the smaller retail and service businesses that filled earlier spaces: it requires a kitchen buildout, liquor licensing, and the kind of operational commitment that signals longer-term confidence in the corridor.

For Long Beach residents, a sit-down restaurant with a bar within steps of the sand fills a gap that predates Sandy. The current boardwalk commercial corridor is dominated by concession-style food operations. A dining room that could seat well over 100 guests and stay open through evening service changes the character of the block, and the Memorial Day weekend timing of the announcement gives the project additional visibility as the summer season begins.

The development site is accessible by LIRR — Long Beach station is roughly a 10-minute walk along Park Avenue. The beach itself opens for summer this weekend, with city lifeguards on duty through Labor Day.

RIPCO, a New York-based commercial real estate firm with significant Long Island retail leasing activity, did not disclose lease terms. Tulum Tacos and Tequila did not respond to a request for comment before publication. The concept's name and positioning suggest a focus on the beach-adjacent dining market that peaks in Long Beach during June through August.

The broader Long Beach boardwalk redevelopment has moved slowly since Sandy, complicated by permitting, financing, and a series of ownership and design changes at different parcels. The B2K project has represented one of the more consistent threads of that effort. Adding a restaurant anchor of this size to the ground floor is the kind of step that tends to attract additional leasing interest to neighboring spaces.