This local restaurant opening was a prank. The taco party in the parking lot was not
An April fools prank turned into a free taco party in a Key Peninsula parking lot.
In 2020, the owners of 2 Margaritas, Ricardo Sahagun and Edgar Anaya, bought the former Lulu’s Homeport Restaurant and Lounge in Lakebay.
They have other locations in Allyn, Union, and on Vashon Island, The News Tribune previously reported.
It’s been three years and Key Peninsula residents are still waiting for the doors to open.
The Mexican chain restaurant has suffered major permit and supply delays since the pandemic, the Key Peninsula News reported in 2021.
The owners of 2 Margaritas did not respond to the Gateway for an update on where things stand. The News Tribune reached out to Pierce County in February and they had no permit activity listed for 2 Margaritas.
Inside a Key Peninsula Facebook group, Connor Wiley, a Key Peninsula resident, posted an April fools prank of the restaurant opening.
He uploaded an image of chips and dip with a caption that said: “So glad that 2 Margaritas finally opened this weekend! Their mushroom salsa is to die for!”
With over 240 likes and 70 comments, Wiley pulled off quite the prank.
Angela McWilliams took it even further by placing a “now open” sign outside the restaurant at 1509 Key Peninsula Highway NW.
Locals were quick to catch onto the prank and were disappointed the restaurant did not actually open.
“Man I got excited for a minute and then remembered what day it was,” Sarah Peliz wrote.
Paige Lea Baderdeen said she ran in the other room to tell a family member.
One comment brought the community together.
Richard and Cheryl Miller, a Key Peninsula couple, turned everyone’s mood around.
“Word on the street is that all you can eat free carnitas street tacos will be given out between noon and 2 p.m.!” Richard Miller wrote.
On April 1 the Millers brought a grill and made tacos for the whole community in the 2 Margaritas parking lot.
Richard Miller, who is an art teacher at Key Peninsula Middle School, had been planning this prank for weeks, he told the Gateway Tuesday.
His students were in on it too.
“A few of my art students who were done with their school projects helped make some ‘Grand Opening’ and ‘Free Tacos’ signs last week,” Miller said.
He waited to tell his wife about the prank until the night before.
“We shopped then stayed up late cooking,” Miller said.
On the morning of April 1, Miller was surprised that someone else had a similar idea after he saw McWilliams’ “Now Open” sign in another Facebook post.
“We were chopping away and making salsa,” Miller said.
The Millers put up their eight signs along the road in front of the restaurant, then set up their taco stand in the parking lot.
They served almost 150 tacos in the 90 minutes they were open.
“We had a steady stream of customers the entire time,” Miller said.
Some users in the comments still thought it was part of the April fools prank. Others lined up for free tacos.
Wiley chimed in on Facebook, loving that his prank turned into quite the taco day.
“This is literally the coolest thing ever,” Wiley wrote. “Folks who got tricked still get to eat. I love the KP so freaking much. You don’t see this stuff happening anywhere else in WA, you can’t change my mind.”
The 2 Margaritas owner also showed up after seeing messages about the party on his phone, according to Miller.
“One of the owners showed after his phone lit up,” Richard Miller wrote on Facebook. “He was initially angry and very confused. Then he ate some tacos (he loved them) then he realized what day it was, then he smiled and laughed out loud. He was a very good sport considering someone was trespassing and cooking in front of his restaurant without permission ... he let the prank continue until the meat ran out.”
Miller added the owner of 2 Margaritas told him they were waiting on health department inspections set to happen this month.
“What happens on the Key stays on the Key,” Meliz Brennan said on Facebook.
