(WBBM NEWSRADIO) – Taco chef Taylor Mason has gone from pop-up vendor and catering entrepreneur to operating a bricks-and-mortar restaurant that features her unique take on the Mexican food staple.
Taylor’s Tacos, 1512 W. Taylor St., had a soft opening earlier this month.
Mason’s initial attempt at taco-making was in 2014. She said she was inspired by the type of hot and fresh street food she ate while attending college in Southern California. She was more of a “taco lady” as a side job between 2016 and 2018, she said.
Then, she and her wife, Maya, developed their business more seriously in an incubator kitchen on the West Side. The pandemic forced them to figure out innovative products such as taco kits.
An initial attempt to go bricks-and-mortar in 2021 was scuttled when a drunken driver crashed into their storefront, Mason says. They pivoted to running an event space and catering before finally landing their current spot in Little Italy.
“Entrepreneurship is not for the weak,” Mason tells the Noon Business Hour. “Do your pushups, do your sit-ups. Get ready. Because it’s going to take you on a wild ride. You just have to be ready to solve a problem every single day.”
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