The Industrial Street Bash on Saturday is one part grand opening for Fuzzy’s Taco Shop, a casual dining spot that sells some of the messiest tacos in town — which sport a hybrid of Tex-Mex and Greek-ish flavors.

But the bash is also one part a celebration of the continuing cultural boom in downtown Den­ton.

Industrial Street’s 100 block has slowly but surely blossomed since Dan Mojica opened Dan’s Silverleaf in 2002. Mojica hosts the Industrial Street Bash with Mel Knight, a partner in ownership of Fuzzy’s Taco Shop. Mo­jica’s and Knight’s businesses bookend the block of Industrial.

“The way we see it, our businesses are complimentary,” said Knight, relaxing in the low booth of his expansive dining room — easy-to-swab concrete floors making everything from conversation to the song of one of his cooks bang off the walls.

“Very much so,” said Mojica.

To the entrepreneurs, their side of the street is ripe for an outdoor social, a block party that includes everything they love about Denton. In this case, that’s flavorful regional fare, cold brews and honest-to-God music by artists who share Mojica and Knight’s independent leanings.

Mojica revived his much-loved bar on Industrial after it closed on Elm Street after about seven years of faithful live music and an unsung, daring gourmet menu. Mojica moved his bar and club into the old location of Wolf’s Food Store, a small general store that opted for turn-of-the-century customer service, running tabs for its customers. A feed store on Industrial kept the rural fire of Denton burning until it moved.

“I’ve always thought proximity to the Square was a good thing,” Mojica said. “You can park on the Square, do some shopping, maybe get a bite to eat and then walk down here to take in some music in just a few minutes. There’s a lot of potential. Ul­ti­mate­ly, this is going to be an urban landscape, but what I’ve always liked about Denton is that it hangs on to that small-town American feel.”

Sure enough, after the Silver­leaf became a fixture for touring and resident musicians — Mojica has side-stepped the kind of lineup that stocks the stages of alcohol-first roadhouses — Denton officials and the local arts council started planning an arts corridor that means to thrust pedestrians westward down Hickory Street. The Silver­leaf is on the corner of Hickory, and Fuzzy’s is a mere 25 strides away. A laidback restaurant and a venue that champions the likes of Wayne “The Train” Hancock, Max Stalling and Paul Slavens fit into that picture just fine.

Knight said he’d long agreed with Mojica’s sentiments before planting a taco shop on the same block.

“The proximity to the Square, yeah, definitely. But going a little further, it’s a little separate of the north and south ends of town. This is so convenient, and it’s getting to be an area where people want to stick around. You can see some art, get some dinner and then see some live music,” Knight said.

With the Denton County Trans­portation Authority’s future rail station, Knight said, “things are going to move east.”

The Industrial Street Bash is free, and children can enjoy free soda. Fuzzy’s will keep chips and salsa bowls topped off at the Sil­ver­leaf. At Fuzzy’s, there will be $1 tacos and $2 beer. The Silverleaf will sell $1 domestic draft beers.

The music starts at 1 p.m. with blues band Three Time Fool on the stage at Dan’s Silverleaf. At 3 p.m., Mariachi Inolvidable will be roving around the block. Be­tween 5 and 5:30 p.m., the Guitar George Trio, featuring Denton fixture George Wool­ard, will  play on the terrace.

“I want everyone to know that they can pick up a taco at Fuzzy’s and come on into the Sil­ver­leaf,” Mojica said. They can bring their $2 beer in, too. After the bash, the Sil­ver­leaf will host the “Rolling Train Wreck,” an evening featuring Spit­fire Tum­ble­weeds, 100 Damned Guns, Whiskey Folk Ram­blers and the Boxcar Bandits.

Knight and Mojica said they aim to make the bash a yearly party, and hope next year they’ll be able to cordon off their block, and maybe even adopt Hickory, Mulberry and Russell streets for a true block party.

LUCINDA BREEDING can be reached at 940-566-6877. Her e-mail address is cbreeding@dentonrc.com .

When: Noon to 8 p.m. Saturday

Where: 100 block of Industrial Street

Details: Free admission, with live music and cheap eats and drinks.