TACO NACO KC - Tacos with a chef's flare

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Voyage KC: Hidden Gems - Taco Naco KC

Brian Goldman

Excerpt from VoyageKC: Kansas City’s Most Inspiring Stories
Interview conducted by VoyageKC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brian Goldman.

Hi Brian, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Taco Naco KC is a start-up local taqueria in downtown Overland Park owned and operated by myself and my lovely wife, Chef Fernanda Reyes. We offer a modern Mexican flair to street tacos, tostadas, quesadillas, burritos, and nachos. Everything we make is made from scratch with real fresh ingredients, including our specialty margaritas. Our philosophy is all about fresh, quality ingredients. Good food starts with love and care.

The concept of Taco Naco KC started out as a graduate school project management case study. The idea struck so well with us that we decided to start making it happen. In 2019, we formulated the LLC and started as a small catering company for weddings, birthdays, graduations, and company events with a pop-up taqueria and nacho stand at local events, farmer’s markets and festivals.

During the first half of 2020, catering and festivals were shut down. Without the ability to serve hot off-the-grill tacos, we quickly adapted our Overland Park Farmer’s Market stall to sell prepackaged salsas, margarita mixes, and taco meal kits. With the success at the farmer’s market, we decided to set our roots down and open our very own Market & Taqueria showcasing all our products made from scratch.

We were blown away by how well our products were received. The people of Kansas City loved our taco jazz, so we opened a small Market & Taqueria in Downtown Overland Park with pop-ups at the Overland Park Farmer’s Market and throughout the Greater Kansas City Area. Today, we offer fresh guacamole, salsas, quesos, margaritas mixes, handcrafted aolis, moles, and tacos off-the-grill or to-go. We additionally offer high-quality, third-party Mexican products at our Market & Taqueria.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Despite our local popularity, it has been a very challenging road, but luckily we have both proven to be very proactive to potential problems and quickly adapt to overcome them.

With the pandemic, catering and festivals were shut down. Without the ability to serve hot off-the-grill tacos, we quickly adapted our Overland Park Farmer’s Market stall to sell prepackaged salsas, margarita mixes, and taco meal kits. With the success at the farmer’s market, we decided to set our roots down and open our very own Market & Taqueria showcasing all our products made from scratch.

We are still wading through the new waves of challenges like a limited workforce, incrementing food costs, and long logistical delays from vendors. However, our adaptive resilience through these times of adversity has only made us stronger. We have been immensely grateful to the local community and the City of Overland Park for their generous love and support during these times. We could not have done it without them.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Taco Naco KC is a welcoming and vibrant mom-and-pop Mexican market and taqueria offering a wide array of artisanal tacos, handcrafted salsas, and delicious cocktails in a modern-yet-authentic ambiance with an enjoyable and warm outdoor patio. We offer a modern Mexican flair to street tacos, tostadas, quesadillas, burritos, and nachos. In our market area, we also offer fresh guacamole, salsas, quesos, margaritas mixes, handcrafted aolis, and moles. Everything we make is made from scratch with real fresh ingredients. We believe quality ingredients make all the difference when it comes to good food.

What matters most to you? Why?
Our happy customers give us the most motivation. We work hard to ensure our customers leave with a big smile. Good food is all about fresh, quality ingredients structured in balanced recipes showcasing all the unique flavors. That is what we do. We have a small batch production line utilizing only the freshest, highest quality ingredients on the market. This greatly impacts our food and labor costs; however, it is our core philosophy to offer delicious fresh food and maximize the flavor and nutritional value of our dishes.

Pricing:

  • Taco Tuesday: 3 tacos for $9

  • Happy Hours – Weekdays 3-6PM: $5 Margaritas, $3.50 Beers

Contact Info: