Taco Party Soon to Join Bricks and Mortar Ranks

Photo courtesy of Taco Party/Facebook

Like Bon Me, Mei Mei, and the Chicken & Rice Guys before it, vegan taco specialists, Taco Party, will soon make the jump from food truck stalwart to brick and mortar restaurant. Set to open mid-summer at 711 Broadway in Somerville’s Ball Square, Taco Party’s new space will have seating for 20 and an extended menu that will include more tacos, tostadas, house-made aguas frecsas,  and a “heavy dessert focus,” according to owner Keith Schubert.

“When I first started the truck I kind of threw that idea [launching a brick and mortar] into my business plan, but as the truck got going I realized that it’s a tremendous amount of work we do just to pull off three hours worth of vending,” Schubert says. “You have to load the truck, drive somewhere, set it up, etc. That’s why I started getting serious about opening a restaurant last year. This winter I was out looking for another commissary kitchen to work out of, and the next thing you know, I’m buying a restaurant.”

Taco Party’s new space, which once housed a Zing Wingz, is owned by Soundbites’ Yasser Mirza, who Schubert says has been instrumental in making the Taco Party restaurant a reality. Schubert, formerly a traveling drum technician in the music industry, launched his vegetarian (now vegan) concept back in 2013 as a response to his hometown’s dearth of healthy options. Today, he says he’s just happy to work with Boston’s growing community of plant-based purveyors.

“I’ve been vegetarian/vegan for 13 years now,” Schubert says. “In my old job I travelled around with bands a lot and what became apparent to me, is that it’s much easier to eat that way in every other major American city. I would come home to Boston and not have anywhere to go. There was Grasshopper and Buddha’s Delight in Brookline, but that was pretty much it. Things are a lot better these days, though. It still doesn’t compare to New York or Chicago or L.A., but it feels good to be a part of the movement that advocates for better living, maybe a little less meat, and eating vegetables. That’s exciting for me!”

711 Broadway, Somerville; tacopartytruck.com.