Gas station taco stand El Sazon will open a full-service restaurant in Minneapolis

After a series of sold-out tasting dinners in an Eagan gas station convenience store, El Sazon Tacos & More is going full service.

The owners, Karen and Cristian De Leon, have signed a lease on a yet-to-be-announced address in southwest Minneapolis' Tangletown neighborhood. They are aiming for a late summer opening.

"We're nervous and we're excited," Karen De Leon said. "I feel like if we weren't scared, it wouldn't be the right thing to do."

The De Leons launched El Sazon in March 2022 at a BP in Eagan, both of them coming from long careers in restaurants. Cristian, the chef, ran kitchens at places such as the Copper Hen, Chino Latino, the Good Earth and the Icehouse, and Karen was in management. Word quickly spread about Cristian's braised meats, birria ramen, pizza and tacos — all made in a tiny corner of a convenience store.

El Sazon first hosted "Night at the Gas Station" last December as an opportunity for Cristian to share more of his fine-dining skills. The sit-down meal with nonalcoholic drink pairings from Zoilo Ruacho was an instant hit, with each subsequent dinner selling out.

When El Sazon opens in Tangletown, it will offer the same tacos and burritos that are on the menu at the gas station stand — which is remaining open. But at dinner time, Cristian will get to display his skills with plated dishes, now on a regular basis. "Maybe not as fancy" as the gas station tasting menus, Karen said. Ruacho will craft a cocktail menu.

The new restaurant will seat about 55 people, and will have a patio for warmer weather.

In the meantime, there are a few dates still on the calendar for those gas station dinners.

"I think people like the fun of it," Karen said.

El Sazon Tacos & More, 1815 Diffley Road, Eagan, 763-276-0654, elsazonmn.com