Town Tacos cures your street taco cravings at new location inside Akron's Barmacy
Town Tacos owners Tyler Robinson and Nadine Gheith have been on an interesting food journey that started with making street tacos at home and has most recently landed them with their own restaurant space inside Barmacy Bar & Grill in Akron's Highland Square.
The couple was living in a house on Voris Street near the University of Akron in 2019 and Robinson had been laid off by a local biotech startup. Robinson enjoyed doing the cooking for the couple and one night Gheith asked him to make street tacos, which are lime-flavored and have cilantro, onions, and verde and hot sauces.
"These are amazing. Make them again," Gheith, who used to do brand ambassador work, told Robinson.
He did, for friends who came over to watch a football game. The group said they were so good, the couple should sell them.
That's what they started doing, filling late-night orders that University of Akron students made by phone or text. Robinson and Gheith made the street tacos at home and delivered them to their customers by car. With the help of a flyer and social media, they were doing 24-hour deliveries daily around UA, with 4 to 7 a.m. being a particularly hot time for shrimp taco sales.
"We went around like (the University of) Akron campus handing them out to all these college kids," Gheith said.
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Cooking is special for Robinson, 27, a Barberton High School and Stark State graduate.
"It's always been my escape," he said. "I've never been artistic. I've been OK with words. I've been decent with math. But when I get into the kitchen, that's my one gift God has given me that stands out among the others, I would say."
Their business continued to evolve in 2020, when they bought a trailer for $3,000 and started parking in the Manny's Pub lot to sell tacos to the UA-area bar crowds. They also started selling in Highland Square during bar hours.
"People just started to know who we were in Akron," Robinson said.
Next, they saw a dream come true when they sold their trailer and purchased their Town Tacos food truck for $17,000 in 2021. That allowed them to do weddings, graduation parties and other special events, which made it easier to make a living.
"I already knew I wanted a food truck from the beginning," Robinson said.
The name Town Tacos is a tribute to Robinson's hometown, which he and his friends gave the nickname "the town." Once he and Gheith, a Hoban High School graduate, were ready to run a brick-and-mortar business, they starting running Town Tacos out of Clutch Gentlemen's Club in Akron, which lasted only two weeks.
Next, they moved Town Tacos to a kitchen space in front of Magics Mart & Drive Thru in Barberton, whose owners are family friends with Gheith's family. They ran Town Tacos takeout there for nine months.
"It was a good step to take for our business," said Gheith, 27.
"We just got to learn the ropes of running a small business that's stationary as opposed to mobile," Robinson said.
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Barmacy owner Walid Loutfi had contacted the Town Tacos owners a couple years ago about operating out of his business but they weren't ready at the time. Recently, he needed a new taco restaurant to take over the lease where Alondra Tacos formerly operated inside Barmacy.
This time, Robinson and Gheith were ready. They signed the lease and moved in two weeks later, with their grand opening July 21.
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They've extended their restaurant hours, serving past 2 a.m. Thursdays through Saturdays. Folks can either eat at tables inside Barmacy or do carryout.
Hours at Town Tacos, located at 804 W. Market St., are 4 p.m. to 12 a.m. Tuesday, 4 to 10 p.m. Wednesday, 4 p.m. to 2:15 a.m. Thursday through Saturday and 4 to 10 p.m. Sunday.
Besides the owners, the eatery employs four.
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The foot traffic to Town Tacos, housed in a tiny 12-by-8-foot kitchen down a back hall inside Barmacy, has been good, the couple said, with bar events such as comedy shows, karaoke, trivia and live bands drawing people in.
"I love where we're at. The atmosphere's just a lot better. It's a lot busier," Gheith said of Town Tacos' new home.
The menu features steak, chicken, pulled beef, tilapia or vegetarian elote street tacos; chicken or beef birria tacos with meat cooked for three to five hours and served with consomme broth; elote corn bowls; quesadillas and more.
For carryout, call 330-790-1684. Delivery is through DoorDash or GrubHub. The owners use their food truck mostly for private events. For information about catering, call 330-285-9769.
Arts and restaurant writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Town Tacos fills street taco cravings for Highland Square bar goers
