Iovinos to open taco restaurant in Mt. Lebanon

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Jeff and Carol Iovino of Cafe Io are opening a familiar restaurant in a space that’s new to them: Taco Diablo will open this summer at 297 Beverly Road in Mt. Lebanon, in the location that was formerly Umai, the Japanese-sushi-Thai restaurant that has ended a two-year run.

Fans of Mr. Iovino know Taco Diablo as the summer pop-up in the 500-square-foot space at 300C Beverly Road: It’s next door to Cafe Io that — — for a stretch had been Io Deli.

Io Deli moved to 306 Beverly Road in June. Once the deli had completed its move to bigger digs, the pop-up Taco Diablo debuted in the old deli spot and ran through the fall.

Once Mr. Iovino started brokering for the Umai space, he talked to Kara Leo about opening her cake shop in the former deli location. So by February, Kara Kakes moved in, with Ms. Leo whipping up desserts for retail sales as well as for Cafe Io and Io Deli.

Unlike the summer Diablo pop-up that Mr. Iovino called “a food truck without wheels,” Taco Diablo’s future location will have about 40 seats and a liquor license.

Though he’s putting together a menu that’s bigger than the pop-up, it’s likely Mr. Iovino will include taco offerings such as original red chile chicken, carne asada or carnitas, along with burritos, bowls, rice and beans and chips.

Mr. Iovino is busy: He has three restaurants, two kids in high school and is a middle school lacrosse coach for Mt. Lebanon. But he’s right where he wants to be. He grew up in the town and his parents still live there, too. He left for college at Johnson & Wales in Charleston, S.C. (now closed), but “like so many native Pittsburghers, I was pulled back,” he says.

The Iovinos opened their original restaurant in 2006 as a white-tablecloth spot under the name Iovino’s Cafe and by 2011, they ditched the tablecloths and renamed the place Cafe Io — Jeff’s nickname — and transitioned to a more casual menu.