Guapo’s is indeed coming to the Spectrum at Reston Town Center, as previously reported by The Burn.
However, the new location will not be a cocina and bar — the company’s full-service Tex-Mex restaurant — or a Guapo’s Go, the quick-service, charcoal chicken-focused taqueria found in Herndon, Manassas and Woodbridge.
The team is instead introducing itself to Reston with a brand-new concept called Guapo’s Mar y Tierra, a spokesperson told FFXnow.
“It’s a fresh, modern dining experience created by the same family and owners behind Guapo’s, featuring a new menu and a contemporary design while staying true to the hospitality our guests know and love,” the spokesperson said by email.
Few details about what to expect from the new restaurant are available at the moment, but the spokesperson said Guapo’s will share more information, including what kind of food will be served and an opening timeline, “as we get closer to launch.”
Guapo’s will take over the prominent corner building at 1845 Fountain Drive that was vacated on July 15 by Not Your Average Joe’s.
The name of the new brand, which translates to “sea and land,” suggests an emphasis on seafood. Hiring is underway for positions at the Reston location, including for dishwashers, servers, cooks, food runners and, intriguingly, pizza cooks, according to a preview flyer.
Started with a single restaurant that has been operating in D.C.’s Tenleytown since 1990, Guapo’s specializes in classic Mexican and Tex-Mex flavors, with quesadillas, fajitas and enchiladas among its most-ordered dishes, per an online menu.
Now run by founder Hector Rincón’s children, who all graduated from Fairfax County schools and universities, the cocina and bar has added locations over the years in Arlington, Fair Lakes, Bethesda, Gaithersburg and Merrifield, where it opened at Gatehouse Plaza in December 2023.
As of April, the family’s fast-casual sister brand, Guapo’s Go, was prepping its first Maryland outpost in Gaithersburg.
According to leasing materials, the Spectrum at Reston Town Center still has two available spaces, including the former On the Border building at 11880 Spectrum Center. The approximately 7,000-square-foot restaurant has been vacant since the chain shuttered its last Fairfax County location in February 2025.
