Today we’d like to introduce you to Josh Luger.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My business partner, James Marcus, and I are serial entrepreneurs with a broad background across multiple different industries. We always had a passion for the food industry, and while we had some different professional touch points with it in the past, with Capital Tacos, we finally decided to go into it head-first. Our ambition from the beginning was (and is) to serve the most flavorful, inventive Tex-Mex out there – while creating a restaurant company built for the future, not from the past. Over the years, we’ve put our heads down, opened five stores, and developed a massive, cult-like following in the communities we serve and across the Tampa area. We’ve had hundreds of requests over the years to bring Capital Tacos to more folks across multiple markets, including Atlanta. And we couldn’t be more excited to be doing that now.
Alright, 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?
The restaurant business is a humbling one; as they say, you are only as good as the last taco you served! But in all seriousness, building a business – especially one focused on hospitality – will always present some bumps and challenges. In our restaurants, we make dozens of recipes and ingredients from scratch daily, offer over a hundred menu items, grill everything up to order, and serve hundreds of customers each day. We strive for perfection but know that’s more of a never-ending pursuit than a destination that is reached. So, you need to be ready for anything and everything – including things like COVID, which can completely change how you do business overnight. We’re lucky to have a passionate and devoted customer base that finds something truly unique in our food and brand, and we work incredibly hard to deliver for them each and every day. It’s a labor of love and pursuit of a passion to deliver the most flavorful and inventive Tex-Mex known to man – so we view all bumps and obstacles thrown our way as simply part of the journey!
We’ve been impressed with Capital Tacos, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are most known for two things: serving the absolute best, most flavorful Tex-Mex known to man and being an asset to the communities in which we serve.
On the Tex-Mex side, we’ve developed a large and devoted fan base around our food given our approach. We run a true scratch kitchen, arriving in the wee hours each morning to prep dozens of homemade recipes and ingredients daily. Our main dishes can be had as tacos, burritos, bowls, nachos, crazy fries or salads. They are presented as chef-created flavor profiles, meaning we don’t simply drop a protein on something and ask if you want cheese and sour cream as we go down a line. We specifically craft each of our 13 core flavor profiles with 5-8 specific proteins, toppings, and sauces to deliver unique combinations that you haven’t tasted before. We’ll even have a specific sauce in-house just for one flavor profile if that’s what it takes. We pride ourselves on offering up something for everyone; we have over 100 menu items and a dozen proteins across 13 core flavor profiles. Not to mention our many signatures and creative starters and sides, like our Mexican Street Corn, Queso Bites, Chips & Queso, and Capital Fries, along with our massively popular Monster Quesadillas, featuring two 12-inch burrito shells loaded with flavor. We also make sure everything is fun for kids with a wide-ranging kid’s menu that they love. As a result, a majority of what folks order with us aren’t actually tacos! We grill everything to order without leaving food sitting in steam well all day. We consistently run a variety of specials, ranging from sides like Mac & Queso to creative empanadas, taquitos, homemade desserts and special tacos. We tell folks to always expect the unexpected when it comes to new items we may introduce.
Off the grill and in the community, we take our responsibility seriously and folks notice that. We provide discounts to local leaders, such as teachers, public service employees and public safety personnel. We partner up with local non-profits on various cases and benefits. We’ve partnered up with the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning players and local WWE wrestling superstars on special tacos of the month, where a portion of the proceeds go to a charity of their choice. We also provide advancement and ultimately ownership opportunities to our team members, as well as franchising opportunities generally to local folks who might want to join our team as owners. We view us coming to a community as a partnership and try our hardest to engage at every level.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
It’s important in any business or industry to have a north star. Ours is delivering the most flavorful and inventive Tex-Mex known to man and being a true asset to the communities we serve. That is not something you achieve one day and then rest the next one. It’s a never-ending pursuit locally, regionally, and really around the world for inspiration and research and development. Our belief has always been that folks will crave inventive, high-quality flavors and seek to explore and try new items. And we don’t think that will ever change. However, how a restaurant delivers and offers this up to folks is already changing and may continue to do so. Folks expect and will continue to expect the most convenient way to order online and pick up food in stores. They will expect creative rewards programs that provide unique experiences and value in exchange for their loyalty. They will also continue to expect a brand to stand for something beyond the product they offer. That’s why we take a lot of pride in the partnerships and relationships we develop in each of the communities we serve, and why we provide and will continue to provide growth and ownership opportunities for local team members who come in and work their way up with us.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.capitaltacos.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/capitaltacos
- Facebook: facebook.com/capitaltacos
- Twitter: twitter.com/capitaltacos
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4AxgsqS8kiLCi8QTKXKUgA
Image Credits
Capital Tacos
