Gray Dog food truck in Blue Springs offers light, fresh beach-style tacos
Sep. 8—BLUE SPRINGS — In the fall of 2019, Josh Taylor was working as a sous chef for the athletic department at Ole Miss. But in the back of his mind, he knew he wanted to have his own restaurant.
"I knew I was eventually going to do something on my own," said Taylor, who has previously worked as a line cook at Boure in Oxford. "I worked all over the country at resorts, from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to Steamboat Springs, Colorado, so I had the experience."
After Taylor left the university, he started making tacos at his house every Saturday night and inviting friends over to watch football or just hang out.
"I did pork tacos, chicken tacos, street corn, and it turned out to be pretty good," Taylor said. "So for three months, I turned my kitchen into a lab, making different sauces and salsas."
Once he had the concept for his eatery, he decided to have a food truck built, rather than moving into a brick-and-mortar building.
"With COVID, we didn't know where this world was going," he said. "If everything went to hell, I'd still own this trailer."
The custom food truck, built in Taylor's home state of Georgia, was completed this past February, and Taylor leased some land about a half-mile from the Toyota plant on Magnolia Way in Blue Springs to park it.
In May, Gray Dog Taco Shop opened to the public.
"I named it for my dog, Levon," said Taylor, 39. "He goes out and greets all the customers when they pull up. I like my dog a lot. He likes people, and people like him."
Taylor decided early on to keep his menu tight. He offers tacos, burritos and burrito bowls, quesadillas, nachos, house made chips and salsa, and shoestring fries with a Southwest comeback sauce.
"This is not Mexican food," Taylor said. "It's modeled after beach-style tacos. Everything's fresh and light."
Taylor pairs each of his tacos with a special sauce or salsa, and he encourages customers to try them the way they're supposed to be served.
Chicken tacos are served with corn salsa and lime crema; pork are served with a Southwest comeback sauce; Catfish come with cabbage and chipotle crema; and steak is served with salsa verde.
"I think the catfish tacos and the pork tacos are the best and the most decadent," he said. "But chicken and steak are the best-selling tacos and quesadillas. I could never take them off the menu."
Taylor is pleased with the amount of business he's had so far.
"We like this space because of Toyota," he said. "Half of our customers are Toyota employees. We're so thankful for them."
But he also gets travelers on I-22 who spot the bright blue food truck and its colorful umbrellas from the highway. And many of his regulars live in Blue Springs.
"The locals will roll up on their 4-wheelers or side-by-sides," he said. "They're so grateful to have something like this out here, which makes me happy. That's all chefs are — suckers for instant gratification."
The Gray Dog is open for lunch Monday through Saturday, and then opens again for dinner Monday through Friday.
"Most of our business is grab-and-go," Taylor said. "We're thinking when the weather turns cooler, more people might stay and eat at the picnic tables. On Friday nights, we have a lot of diners. Everybody eats outside."
Now that Taylor and his three part-time employees have settled into a rhythm, he plans to start offering specials on occasion, maybe shrimp or smoked fish tacos. He's also thought about adding an outdoor chimney, and maybe showing movies on Friday nights.
"I'm very proud of this," he said. "I think we're doing something cool. A brick-and-mortar will come, and it will come sooner than later. But for now, I like this space. I think it's charming."
