Matt and Nick Stanley to open Mercado in Mermaid Waters
The owners of a string of popular Gold Coast Mexican eateries are expanding their empire with a new restaurant concept featuring breakfast burritos and kebabs.
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The owners of a string of popular Gold Coast Mexican eateries are expanding their empire with a new restaurant concept featuring breakfast burritos and kebabs.
The brothers behind Costa Taco, Nick and Matt Stanley, will open a new California-inspired cafe and pop-up space called Mercado in Mermaid Waters.
Mercado will transform the vacant space left by Espresso Moto, which abruptly shut in May and was placed into liquidation amid claims of missing cash and unpaid bills.
“We want to help show that the Gold Coast is one of Australia’s best hospo areas and really ditch this ‘tacky … Surfers Paradise’ way people from out of town sometimes see us,” Nick said.
“So we want to do rad pop-ups and test new concepts in the space.”
The dining duo said they had been working on the Mercado concept “for some time now”.
The cafe will feature breakfast burritos, fruit and green bowls, Mexican-style ‘torta’ sandwiches, chilaqules and more.
The pop-up will have “some cool South American-style barbecue asado ideas and a Middle Eastern kebab concept”.
Nick said it was a no-brainer choosing the vacant space in Mermaid Waters to start their Mercado adventure.
“Both Matt and I reside in Mermaid and have done for the past few years. It’s our home and we always wanted to add something fresh and exciting for the community,” he said.
It’s been a rapid rise for the Stanleys, who will have opened four restaurants in less than three years. Costa Taco is now trading in Palm Beach, Byron and Broadbeach.
Matt said they had envisioned starting a hospitality empire since they were selling bottled vodka with soda and powdered juice sachets at local parties when they were 15 and 16.
Along with growing up in a family full of entrepreneurs, they said they learnt a lot from their time serving tacos at Currumbin Community Markets from 2017 to 2020.
“While the markets are a tough slog, they really teach you everything you need to know about starting a food business,” Matt said.
“We got up at 2.50am each Saturday and Sunday for three years.
“As we have grown, one thing we have really concentrated on is our people.
“We’re incredibly grateful to the Gold Coast community for supporting us from the beginning.”
Mercado is set to open on November 22 on Markeri St, Mermaid Waters.
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