Capital Tacos has grown, a lot, since its flagship launched in Land O’ Lakes a few years ago.
The fast-casual restaurant brand now operates two other Pasco County outposts, and Hillsborough’s first location in Brandon is getting closer to debuting several new elements of its home-grown Tex-Mex magic — among them exclusive dishes, a next-level kids menu, online ordering, and an app with a fresh take on your average loyalty program.
The latest Capital Tacos at 119 W. Bloomingdale Ave., which weighs in at about 3,500 square feet, also has additional room in the back for what could become an extra dining room, or a potential commissary kitchen that would support regional expansion.
But speaking of expansion, what’s next for the popular Tampa Bay taco shop?
Well, in case they weren’t already hyped about the Brandon opening, here’s some more good news for the hardcore fans in Tampa, St. Petersburg and elsewhere, who’ve made the drive (more than once) to chow down: Last week, Josh Luger of Capital Tacos told CL that he and fellow partners Bobby and Kristel Heskett and James Marcus are looking to grow their local footprint over the next year or so.
Luger elaborated, saying he wouldn’t limit this plan to any particular city — because their cult-like following sends in requests from all over — but getting to Pinellas is a priority. South Tampa is also interesting to them.
“I would say that it’s not unreasonable to expect, at minimum, three or four stores in the next year, but we’ll see,” said Luger. “Again, the biggest factor on that is really dependent on finding the right locations.”
The team isn’t opposed to franchising, either. However, the goal is to recruit a majority of their franchisees from within. The most important part of Capital Tacos’ growth, after all, is maintaining quality and consistency, according to Luger — two standards their employees are familiar with.
“We think a core part of our success is the people that work for us, that greet customers every day. They have a real passion for the business, they have an ownership of the business, and they come to kind of be experts in Capital Tacos,” he said. “And so because of that commitment, that dedication and that knowledge, what we are offering to people that work with us is you can grow with the company.”
To put it simply, the partners aren’t just open to franchising — they’re hopeful. They think there are some folks moving up in their ranks who’d qualify for a franchisee role one day.
“No one’s gonna have 20 or 25,” said Luger. “It’s gonna be, people who are highly motivated have one, maybe two. But only after they’ve mastered one.”
This article appears in Dec 14-21, 2017.