![]() ![]() This is perhaps the most exciting time (dare I say ever?) to love tacos in LA. So when in search of the very best tacos in LA, we turned to Cabral to put together a guide. ’ Whether you’re after tacos packed with mesquite–grilled asada or slow-cooked tripe, he’s your guy. TACO, a coauthor of a cookbook about Mexican grilling, and a taco curator for Netflix’s ‘Taco Chronicles. Now, Cabral is the editor of the James Beard Award–winning food and culture website L.A. At 21, he became a restaurant scout for legendary ‘Los Angeles Times’ restaurant critic Jonathan Gold. “It’s not always easy but we’re trying.Javier Cabral is an LA-based journalist who has been writing about food professionally since he was a teen. “You got to try and stay positive all the time or you’re really doomed,” said Paul Alaniz. They’re currently considering selling their home to help from going bankrupt. They waited for the traffic to pick back up, but the lack of business has them behind in bills putting them in debt. A Facebook post in all capital letters read, “FREE MARGARITAS, BYOB, DJ RIGHTEOUS WILL BE PERFORMING COME CHECK US OUT, BEST TACOS IN ALL OF DOWNTOWN.” In October 2020, the couple had a grand opening. It was a huge order, and it really helped us stay open in the beginning.” “They gave us that business for breakfast, lunch and dinner. “They ordered two tacos for every essential worker at their location,” said Paul Alaniz. The station, which serves DART Rail Red, Blue, Green and Orange lines, is across the street from The Local Taco. The Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s (DART) headquarters building at 1401 Pacific Ave. “If it weren’t for the big orders they made daily, we would have probably had to shut down.” When most of the corporate businesses operating out of downtown Dallas offices resorted to letting their employees work from home, the Alanizs were afraid they would have to shut down in the early months of the pandemic. ![]() “We’re at about 50%, a lot of us are still working from home since we have the option,” said Kay. Kay said her office is just a couple of blocks away from the restaurant and it hasn’t returned to full capacity. The order Kay picked up only happens once a week. It’s a great breakfast taco!”Įven though they make good food, business hasn’t been good. ![]() “They not only have great sauce, the tacos aren’t too heavy, not too light. “The sauces here are delicious,” said customer Rachel Kay, who picked up to order for her co-workers. Owners of The Local Taco Paul and Mary Alaniz restaurant hand an order of 48 breakfast tacos to customer Rachael Kay. “They usually order about 48,” said Paul Alaniz. Most Tuesdays, they show up an hour early to make a couple dozen of breakfast tacos for an office in downtown. Almost three years since the start of the pandemic, their daily sales are averaging only about $600. “If we could do that every day, we’d be OK.”īut they’re not OK. “From November of 2019 through early March of 2020, we were making about $1,200 between 11 a.m. Restaurants like The Local Taco are feeling the pain. “The pandemic shutdown turned downtown Dallas into a ghost town for business,” said Paul Alaniz.Ī lot of the businesses occupying downtown buildings haven’t returned to full office attendance. COVID shattered the couple’s dreams of financial freedom. In March 2020, after three months of operating under their ownership, the restaurant lost business overnight because of the start of the global pandemic. “They were all office workers that would just walk in here and fall in love with our food.”īut that traffic wouldn’t last for long. “The main force of the business was the lunch crowd,” said Paul Alaniz. The couple recalls long lines that ran out both of the restaurant’s doors during the daily lunch hour rush. “The first couple of months were great,” said Paul Alaniz. ![]() They re-named the restaurant to The Local Taco and were excited to be the owners of a restaurant that got so much traffic. In November 2019, they jumped at the opportunity to purchase a 14-year-old successful taco shop named Taco Barracho in downtown Dallas from a friend. One thing the couple has in common is an entrepreneur spirit. The couple own The Local Taco restaurant in downtown Dallas. Paul and Mary Alaniz have been married for 23 years. ![]()
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