About Taco Mamacita
The Taco Mamacita story is one built around a passion for food and customer service and a love for the restaurant business. Taylor and Mike Monen have always loved the restaurant industry. The majority of both of their working lives have been spent in the restaurant business.
Mike was a co-owner of the very successful rib and barbecue restaurant chain Sticky Fingers from 1997 until the company sold in 2006. He took a short break from the restaurant industry, was bored out of his mind, and decided that he wanted to begin a ground-up brand spankin' new restaurant. Armed with almost no experience in the Mexican food world (other than knowing that he loved it), he worked with a very renowned modern-mexican cuisine guru named Roberto Santibanez who was the culinary consultant for some pretty well-known restaurants such as Rosa Mexicano and Santana's restaurant Maria Maria. So Mike took his idea for a casual funky-fusion taco joint and combined it with his newly learned knowledge of traditional mexican cooking techniques and began concepting the menu for Taco Mamacita.
Meanwhile, back in the year 2000, Taylor just started college and wanted to work part-time in a restaurant. Sticky Fingers opened down the street from her current employer and she decided to give it a shot. Taylor was interviewed (and hired on the spot) by Mike Monen. Taylor worked for Sticky Fingers from 2000 to 2006 when Taylor and Mike had their first child. Fast forward 8 years and 2 kids. Taylor owned a successful event planning company which Mike quickly pulled her away from to help open Taco Mamacita. I mean, what would Taco Mamacita be without a Mamacita? Taylor has always had a passion for cooking and did not hesitate for one second to leave the event planning world to partner with Mike on Taco Mamacita. She gets credit for the "healthy" choices on the menu (as any good mom would) and is responsible for any hangover that has been caused by one of the hand-mixed drinks served at the bar since they are all her concoctions.
Two years and two restaurants later, with the help of quite a few very experienced friends (see the Our Crew section), Taco Mamacita has become a successful, growing, locally owned and operated restaurant. Our entire company is founded on having fun at what you do and we hope that this radiates through our staff and your experience when you visit one of our stores. We just opened our second location in Nashville, Tennessee's Edgehill Village and are planning more growth in the upcoming year.
Our Mission
To serve made-from-scratch, super-fresh, totally tasty eats and drinks in a fun, laid-back setting and deliver the most legendary customer service of all time to every guest, every time.
It is our goal to give every customer, whether a first-timer or a regular, the best dining experience they have ever had each time they come to Taco Mamacita. If we don't meet this mission, let Mama know about it. And we LOVE to know when we did a great job, too! We constantly praise and reward our crew for kickin' butt so if you want to brag about your experience, please do so!