Spanish-inspired tapas restaurant in Tacoma closes 9 months after opening

A Spanish-inspired restaurant in Tacoma, Miró Tapas, shuttered on Monday, only nine months after it opened.

The owner, Robert Stocker, confirmed the decision to close on Monday in a message to The Tacoma News Tribune but did not elaborate, stating he would “rather not air my reasons on social media.”

Miró Tapas was located at 1502 Pacific Avenue and took over the bottom-floor unit that is connected to the Courtyard by Marriott downtown. The building was most notably home to Pacific Grill, which was the tenant for roughly the last 20 years.

Tacoma restaurant’s unique serving concept drew mixed reviews

Stocker is also the owner of Shake Shake Shake in the Stadium District and The Boom Boom Room on Sixth Avenue. Stocker was inspired to open Miró Tapas after visiting a restaurant in Barcelona that featured tapas coming out of the kitchen on carts for customers to grab.

Customers reported that the method led to lengthy wait times for food, and staff were seemingly overwhelmed with the process. Miró Tapas eventually retired the serving concept and reverted back to orders being placed from the menu.

Miró Tapas’ menu included tapas offered at three different price ranges, such as cold dishes like ceviche and beef tenderloin, and hot plates of grilled octopus with rice and pork ribs. Main dishes included surf and turf, and also paella, according to The Tacoma News Tribune.

Hollander Hospitality owns several hotels across the Pacific Northwest, which includes the Tacoma property that houses the Courtyard by Marriott.

Hollander Hospitality had waited for Miró Tapas to take over the space

Stanford’s, a casual steakhouse, took over the space in 2021 and modernized the space before it closed in January 2024. Following the closure, Hollander Hospitality president and CEO told The Tacoma News Tribune he expected a quick replacement for the space.

In 2025, a manager with Hollander, David Vis, said there were “numerous other suitors but waited for [Stocker].”

“He said he always loved the ambiance and the history of the location,” Vis wrote, according to The Tacoma News Tribune. “We really wanted to go with a local owner, and when we checked his references it became clear that [Stocker] was a respected restaurateur with an artistic eye for food and drink.”

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