Chef Nick Melvin will breathe new life into the old Highland Bakery space when he opens Tex-Mex restaurant Communidad Taqueria later this spring in the Old Fourth Ward. Set to open in May, Communidad Taqueria will serve an all-day menu of tacos, burritos, and margaritas, along with Mexican pastries and desserts from Teresa Finney of At Heart Panaderia.
But opening a new Atlanta restaurant – and one that includes a bar and a neighborhood market – wasn’t part of the plan for Melvin in 2025. He was happy with the bustling business at Poco Loco, the tiny market and counter-service joint he owns with this family in Kirkwood, where they serve everything from smoked brisket burritos to red chicken chile enchiladas.
Over the last year, however, Vantage Realty developers and friends Chris Carter and Gene Rice approached Melvin several times about opening a restaurant in the Highland Bakery space. Each time Melvin turned them down. Carter and Rice never questioned the chef’s reasoning for declining repeated offers, aware of the importance Melvin places on achieving a work-life balance to maintain his sobriety and good mental health.
Yet the thought of bringing something like Poco Loco to more people excited Melvin, who finally ran the idea by his wife and business partner, Kristen.
“Throughout my years on this rock, I’ve learned it’s best to let things happen organically. Every time I try to force something, it doesn’t end well,” Melvin said. “Chris and Gene understand what we’re doing at Poco Loco and my concerns about opening a restaurant.”
“They kept coming back saying they could handle this for us or take care of that, or asking how they could support me and my family if we moved forward,” he added.
Speaking to Kristen sealed the deal, who could sense Melvin’s excitement as they discussed the situation and his concerns. She told Melvin she believed he could do it. Knowing Kristen supported him was enough for Melvin to sign the paperwork to get the ball rolling on Communidad.
As in Kirkwood, Melvin hopes to build a community around his Old Fourth Ward restaurant. He started with the name, riffing on the Spanish word “comunidad,” meaning “community.”
Located across from Erika Council’s Michelin-acclaimed restaurant Bomb Biscuit Co. on Highland Ave., Communidad will open daily, from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., and serve a set menu, with people ordering at the front counter.
Expect coffee and five breakfast tacos in the morning with fillings like migas, red chile chicken chorizo, and eggs, and five all-day tacos, including a vegetarian adobo-roasted pulled mushroom taco and Poco Loco’s popular brisket Colorado taco garnished with a cabbage salad. All tacos come served on house-made flour tortillas.
Melvin also plans to offer burritos, chips and salsa, queso and guacamole, and at least two daily soups and a salad.
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Look for four beers on tap as well as fresh and frozen margaritas, wine, and a few low-alcohol and zero-proof cocktails from the bar. As a soccer fan, Melvin said he’s considering installing at least one television inside.
A separate pastry counter will sell Finney’s sought-after Mexican baked goods and cakes.
“I’m not a pastry guy, but we wanted to provide something other than churros. I started following Teresa when she first started her pop-up and have literally never had a concha so good outside of Mexico,” Melvin said of the collaboration with Finney. “I messaged her and got everything she was making and brought it back for everyone to try. It was all fire.”
Just like people stuck by him and supported his dream, Melvin wants to be a support system for other local chefs and food operators. He sees the partnership with Finney as providing her with an opportunity to grow At Heart Panaderia in a more permanent location.
While the pastry menu isn’t finalized, Finney said it will expand upon the menu from her pop-up days at Opo Coffee in Decatur, including conchas, cake slices, cookies, and other pan dulce (Mexican sweet bread).
“I’m honored that someone like Nick Melvin, who I respect very much, sees something in my food and wants to work with me in this capacity. This will be my first pastry chef job – at age 40,” Finney said. “I’m very excited to hopefully change more people’s perception of Mexican pan dulce—that when made with excellent ingredients and a lot of care, conchas are on par with the croissant.”
In addition to inside seating, Communidad will include a standing bar for people to lean up against and a patio complete with raised beds filled with vegetables like peppers and chiles, herbs, and other plants to attract pollinators tended by Atlanta-based garden company Natural Born Tillers.
Over in the market area of Communidad, you’ll find frozen burritos, take-and-bake meals like enchiladas, bags of Mexican rice, Melvin’s salsas and sauces, stacks of flour tortillas made in-house, and corn tortillas from Molino, a family-owned tortilleria based out of PREP Kitchens on Presidential Parkway. The market will also carry Daydream Ice Cream Sandwiches and a small but curated selection of wines.
Melvin will split his time between Poco Loco and Communidad, although he’s hired an executive chef for the latter but isn’t ready to share their name. Alex Edge, Melvin’s “right-hand man,” and now a part owner in Poco Loco, will help the family run the Kirkwood operation, allowing the chef to spend more time at Communidad.
“Unlike Poco Loco, Communidad isn’t a three-day-a-week kind of spot,” Melvin said. “This is an opportunity to create a heart for the neighborhood and be part of the community with other amazing restaurants here.”
Communidad ATL, 655 Highland Ave., Old Fourth Ward. Opening May 2025.