Colorado restaurant appears on ‘Diner’s, Drive-Ins, and Dives’ the same exact day the state shut it down

Getting on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” once is a big deal. Getting invited back years later is a full-circle moment. Colorado Springs’ Piglatin Cocina got that second invite this fall, and the timing went about as badly as it could. The restaurant’s episode aired Friday, Oct. 30, the same day a notice on its front doors announced that the state of Colorado had seized the business for unpaid taxes.

Piglatin started as a food truck. It first showed up on “Triple D” in 2015, when Guy Fieri tried its pork with black beans, island sauce and maduros, which are caramelized fried plantains. The truck later grew into a Latin-fusion restaurant at 2825 Dublin Blvd. on the city’s north side, and it became a Springs favorite. About two weeks before the closure, Piglatin told fans it was “headed back to Flavortown” for the “Fried, Spiced and Iced” episode of “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives: Triple D Nation.”

Then came Friday. The Colorado Department of Revenue shut the restaurant down and taped a seizure notice for nonpayment of taxes to the front doors. Colorado Springs food newsletter Side Dish reported about $47,500 in back taxes owed. The Gazette couldn’t reach anyone from Piglatin for comment, and the restaurant hadn’t posted on Facebook in about a week.

So the rest of the country watched Guy rave about Piglatin’s food, and hungry Springs locals found a locked door. There’s no word yet on whether it will reopen or what comes next. If that changes, we’ll pass it along. Until then, the episode is a reminder of what made a little food truck worth two trips to Flavortown.