WATERVILLE—As downtown Waterville continues to grow as a vibrant part of Maine's creative economy, it now proudly welcomes a new craft brewery. Cushnoc Brewing Co. opened its second location on 150 Main Street on January 2 with a new name and identity: Cuchnoc Cantina. While the Augusta brewery is known for its wood-fired pizza, the new location is putting its spin on Mexican fare with tacos and other inspired culinary dishes.

"When we were originally approached about opening a location in Waterville, we met with Central Maine Growth Council and saw all of the growth happening," said Tobias Parkhurst, co-founder, adding that Waterville's residents have been a large segment of their Augusts location's customers. "Waterville's been very supportive, and in some sense, Waterville already adopted us as their closest brewery as we were only 18 miles apart."

Regarding the Cantina concept, Parkhurst said they were mindful that there were already several established downtown pizza places and didn't want to compete with their business.

"We also didn't want to be our own competition at our Augusta location," he said.

Craft beer and street tacos are the essential theme of the Waterville brewery, which has an ethos of being "accessible, but nuanced," said Parkhurst.

So, while they don't purport to be a traditional Mexican restaurant ("Just like we don't call our Augusta location an 'Italian restaurant,'" he explained), the menu is heavy on the tacos every which way: carnitas, fish, and chicken for the die-hards, "Lunch Lady Tacos" for the traditionalists, and even Bahn Mi, Bang Bang Shrimp, and Ha-sheesh (vegetarian) and Lobster Tacos for the esoteric.

Rounding out the menu are salads and bowls, as well as other fun fare such as Cantina Tots, Walking Nachos, Avocado Fries, Shrimp Ceviche, and desserts. Also quite interesting for a craft brewery is the addition of a cocktail menu with multiple high-end tequila and mezcal selections.

"We're trying to do with tacos what we did with pizza in Augusta," he said. "A large majority of the menu items are familiar concepts to a wide range of people."

With individual tacos in the $5 to $7 range, he said, "Sometimes it's difficult to be super low-priced and high quality, so we try to walk that line so that people can come in and have a reasonable meal," he said.

The jazzy interior design of the restaurant also checks the "accessible but nuanced" box with big windows, lots of natural light, a sleek, linear bar, and plenty of shareable tables.

While the menu is the buzz of the town — as it is the first restaurant offering Mexican street tacos — the heart of Cushnoc still revolves around the beer.

The new location unveiled two new brews to the standard line up: The Guzman Light Lager, a light Mexican-style lager similar to Corona without the skunkiness, and Up River IPA, made with some experimental hops. The name reflects the brewery's connection to the Kennebec River, both from their Augusta location and now, Waterville.

"We've been making IPAs for six or seven years, and they've gotten better as we go along," he said.

With the Cushnoc Cantina now open, and the wealth of two galleries, three cinemas, public art studios, and rehearsal space for Waterville Opera House, along with the new bookshop, Oliver & Friends next door, it's worth a killer road trip to Waterville this winter.

Related: With new arts center, Waterville cements its resurgence in the creative economy

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com