Haciendas Taco Shop began with little more than a name, a menu, and an idea. Miguel wanted to turn the success of Haciendas Catering into a brick-and-mortar restaurant, but the new concept needed its own identity, website, and complete visual system before it could enter the market. Rather than simply extending the existing catering brand, the challenge was to create something that clearly belonged to the same family while feeling appropriate for a fast-casual taco shop.

The original Haciendas Catering identity was refined and upscale. The restaurant needed more energy, personality, and flexibility without losing that connection. Over a seven-month engagement, we developed the brand identity, website, photography, brand guidelines, and a broad set of print and digital assets designed to carry the concept from launch into everyday operations.  

“After the success of my wedding catering company, I wanted to open a taco shop under the same brand name, just with a more casual feel. I already liked the work Osadía had done for Haciendas Catering, and the results spoke for themselves. That's what gave me the confidence to bring them in for the taco shop too.” - Miguel Salas, Founder, Haciendas Taco Shop & Haciendas Catering

Arlington is crowded with Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurants, many competing around the same promise of authenticity. For a new business with no existing reputation or brand equity, looking like another neighborhood taqueria would make it difficult to earn attention.

The goal was to create a brand that could enter that environment with a recognizable point of view from day one. It needed to feel authentic, bold, and rooted in contemporary Mexican tradition while remaining approachable enough for a casual restaurant. At the same time, it had to maintain a visible relationship with Haciendas Catering and work across two distinct audiences: local restaurant customers in Arlington and catering clients throughout DFW.

That balance became the central design problem: make the brand loud enough to stand out without creating visual noise, and casual enough for a taco shop without losing the sophistication and heritage of the Haciendas name.

Our process began with stakeholder and customer interviews, market research, and buyer-persona development. We reviewed local competitors across their branding, messaging, websites, social media, and customer reviews. The category offered plenty of food options, but much of the branding lacked personality, websites often felt dated, and experiences were inconsistent from one touchpoint to another. The opportunity was to pair a strong product with a more deliberate, memorable brand experience.

The creative direction came from Zacatecas, Miguel's home state. We drew inspiration from two architectural references in particular: the arches of the Zacatecas aqueduct and the interior courtyard of the former Hacienda of the Count of Santiago de la Laguna, now part of the state's government palace. Instead of relying on predictable restaurant imagery such as tacos or burritos, the identity used architecture to communicate Mexican heritage in a more distinctive way.

The circular, medallion-like mark used by Haciendas Catering became the starting point. We reworked its geometry into a squared symbol that forms an H, preserving recognizable elements of the parent identity while giving the Taco Shop a stronger, more compact mark of its own. More than a hundred iterations were explored across two concepts before arriving at a version flexible enough to work at multiple sizes and across restaurant applications.

One of the most useful discoveries happened during that exploration. When the symbol was repeated horizontally, its arches connected into a pattern reminiscent of the Zacatecas aqueduct. That transformed the logo from a standalone identifier into a broader visual device that could wrap packaging, fill backgrounds, frame layouts, and create recognizable texture throughout the brand.

Typography added another layer of character. Bold letterforms inspired by old Mexican posters and newspapers gave the identity a more informal, expressive voice. The palette evolved from Haciendas Catering's colors but became more saturated and energetic, with tones named Chile Guajillo, Cantera de Zacatecas, Nopal, Elote, Queso Fresco, and Comal. Supporting icons and original food photography expanded the system further, giving the team additional tools for packaging, digital content, and in-store communication.

We then carried the identity across the full customer experience: website, packaging, takeout materials, loyalty cards, coasters, signage, stationery, business cards, social media, advertising, vehicles, uniforms, and environmental graphics. Brand guidelines and social media templates gave the Haciendas team a system they could continue using consistently after launch. The voice was brought together under the line Le damos con todo!, capturing the same confident, high-energy attitude established visually.  

“What stood out was how they took that catering identity and turned it into something that actually works as a taco shop. They both feel authentic. They both feel like their own thing. And you can still tell they're related.” - Miguel Salas, Founder, Haciendas Taco Shop & Haciendas Catering

Haciendas Taco Shop launched in mid-2025 with something most new restaurants have to build gradually: a complete brand system from day one. Instead of treating the logo, website, packaging, restaurant graphics, and marketing as separate pieces, the project created one visual language that could move consistently across every customer touchpoint and scale with the business.

The identity also gave Haciendas Taco Shop its own personality without disconnecting it from Haciendas Catering. The architecture-inspired mark, repeating aqueduct pattern, typography, color palette, photography, and supporting graphics created a brand that could feel playful and unmistakably Mexican while still carrying the visual DNA of the business that came before it.

Since launching, the business catering side of Haciendas Taco Shop alone has grown from zero orders to more than 1,000 a month.

The project also gave the Haciendas team a system they could use independently and consistently as the business grew. What began as a restaurant concept with a name and menu became a fully developed brand equipped to show up consistently across its physical, digital, restaurant, and catering experiences.

“The investment is worth every penny. Osadía is thorough, but they make the whole process simple to follow. They break it down into steps you can actually understand, and what you walk away with is a system you can use everywhere in the business and stay consistent with. They keep you in line with your brand. When you bring them an idea, they'll tell you straight whether it helps or hurts it.” - Miguel Salas, Founder, Haciendas Taco Shop & Haciendas Catering