A Fresno restaurant with a twist on tacos is closed. You can still eat at its food truck
Taste Kitchen’s restaurant in southeast Fresno is closed.
The restaurant’s owner shared a statement on Instagram and Facebook, that says, in part: “We want to send out a big thank you to all who supported our little taqueria in Sunnyside for the last couple of years. But, it’s time to close up shop. This isn’t the end for us, just another blip along the journey. We are continuing to roll out our truck various times throughout the week so you can still get your TK fix.”
Taste Kitchen owner Martin Franco started with a bright blue food truck and opened his restaurant in late 2017 at 6015 E. Kings Canyon Road, in the same shopping center as the Sunnyside Gb3.
Rising costs and the location played a role in the decision to close, he told The Bee.
“We ultimately just decided it’s going to be best for our family, just because of the rising costs associated with the business - minimum wage, rising costs in general, insurance, food costs, things like that,” he said.
They decided to keep the truck, which has lower overhead.
“Essentially, we were trying to run two businesses,” he said. “One was actually doing better than the other.”
That restaurant was no typical taqueria.
The brightly colored restaurant sold non-GMO pork belly tacos and cauliflower tacos, along with the more typical asada and shrimp tacos. Street fries were on the menu, drowning in goodies like carne asada, chipotle crema, cotija cheese, pickled onions and cilantro.
The restaurant was located in a part of town that’s a drive for some Fresnans, but Franco made a point of opening where he and his family live.
The food truck – which has been on the scene since the early days of gourmet food truck trend – will continue to operate. Lately, it’s been setting up shop outside newly opened Modernist, a cocktail bar that opened at 719 Fulton St. in downtown’s brewery district.
The truck will be parked outside Modernist Tuesdays through Sundays, generally starting at 5 p.m. on weekdays and staying open until 9 p.m. or 9:30 p.m., and later on weekend nights. It will serve its brunch menu at Modernist from noon to 3 p.m. Sundays.
Starting Saturday, Feb. 22, the truck will be back at Hi-Top Coffee at 1306 N. Wishon Ave. regularly, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Follow it on Instagram or Facebook for other events.
Taste Kitchen’s posts on social media were immediately met with mourning and well wishes from fans.
Here’s Taste Kitchen’s full statement about the closure.
“We want to send out a big thank you to all who supported our little taqueria in Sunnyside for the last couple of years. But, it’s time to close up shop. This isn’t the end for us, just another blip along the journey. We are continuing to roll out our truck various times throughout the week so you can still get your TK fix.”
“We’ve grinded out the last 2+ years at the restaurant and take plenty of great memories, made good friends, and also made many sacrifices along the way and feel there’s no better time than right now to focus on our familia, ourselves, and things that truly matter in life. We knew going in it would be challenging to bring a taco concept that is far different than any other in town, but that’s what we will continue to do on our food truck. We will continue to work hard and kick out more tasty comida for all y’all!! See you soon! Los vemos! #tastekitchen #taqueria #tacosTK #whatsnext @ Taste Kitchen”
This story was originally published February 11, 2020 at 11:19 AM.
