Meet Adolfo & Brianna Gonzalez of Taco Cantina in Smyrna

Today we’d like to introduce you to Adolfo & Brianna Gonzalez.

Growing up in beautiful Zacatlan, Puebla Mexico, a small town which sits on a rolling plateau that ends abruptly at the edge of a huge canyon, Chef Adolfo Gonzalez was raised in the kitchen. His mother, Teodora, a pristine cook, had eight children to cook for daily. She also ran a produce store for most of Adolfo’s child hood. This is where he learned the technique of picking the freshest ingredients for his food creations.

Chef Adolfo started at the Atlanta Fish Market as a teenager, moving quickly through the kitchen positions. He became one of Chef Pano Karatassos’s youngest Sous Chefs at the early age of 18 years old. Working & learning from Chef Robert Holley, he learned how to incorporate his authentic style of cooking.

He also worked alongside Chef Kevin Rathbun for a few years, while Kevin was at Nava & the Atlanta Fish Market. Adolfo learned many cooking techniques while working at other Buckhead Life Restaurant Group’s restaurants such as Buckhead Diner and Corner Café throughout his career.

After marrying Brianna in 2002 and having his first son Josh in 2003, Adolfo was offered an Executive Sous Chef position at Coast Bar & Grill in Charleston SC. Under the helm of Chef Fred Neville, Adolfo learned kitchen management and added variety to his style of cooking.

In 2005, Pano Karatassos asked Adolfo to come back to the Atlanta Fish Market as Executive Sous Chef. Working again alongside Chef Robert Holley creating classic seafood dishes for the world renowned restaurant.

Answering his entrepreneurial spirit, Chef Adolfo, along with his wife Brianna, opened Taco Cantina in the summer of 2015. Focusing on the authentic dishes he grew up helping his mother make, with the freshest ingredients possible.

Taco Cantina has become a labor of love for Adolfo and his family. We are looking forward to expanding our brand this year and continuing the pursuit of having the freshest ingredients and best tasting food possible.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Opening a restaurant is never a breeze for anyone. My wife and I were both working full time jobs & have three active young children to manage all while trying to make something for ourselves. With the help of my brother and close friends we were able to completely change the pizza shop into our “little taco place”. My wife and I both continued to work full time positions after Taco Cantina opened. I finally retired from my position at the Atlanta Fish Market in October of 2015 as the restaurant was starting to get popular and needed my undivided attention. Things worked out as we hoped they would. We are very much looking forward to the new Atlanta Braves Stadium to open in a couple of months. And excited for the summer!

Taco Cantina – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Taco Cantina is a family run business. All of my family works here. My sons, daughter, wife, & brothers. All of our food is made fresh, not prepackaged. I do not sell frozen meats, period. All of my beef, chicken, & pork is purchased and prepared right in the kitchen. All of my sauces are made from fresh ingredients, just like my mother taught me to do when I was younger. I know that we make good food and I tell my customers, “if you don’t like it, please tell me. I will make you something you will like.” I want the customers to leave our “little taco shop” happy and impressed with their meal. So far I have not had to remake any ones meal because they did not like it and that is an accomplishment!

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Just being able to serve the community of Smyrna has been great! Everyone that has come in has been so wonderful and accepting of our food. We must say that one of our proudest moments was having our famous Torta Cubana to be named in Atlanta Magazines “Top 20 Sandwiches” of Atlanta, this past year. We have people that come here from all the way down in South Georgia, all over really and multiple times a week just for that sandwich!

Contact Info:

• Address: 2517 Spring Road
  Smyrna GA 30080
• Website: www.mytacocantina.com
• Phone: (678) 424-1826
• Instagram: @mytacocantina
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mytacocantina
• Twitter: @mytacocantina
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/taco-cantina-smyrna