Hey wasn’t born into a South American family or raised on the streets of Mexico, but Taco Daddy founder Sam Thornton has become the go-to street food vendor for much of Perth’s Latin community.
A crowd-favourite at local food markets after four years on four wheels, the proud chef will park up at Crown Perth’s new Urban Food District from April 17 in his first bricks and mortar residence for the brand.
With his signature menu item being the quesa birria taco, Mr Thornton, 35, is excited fill the bellies of his regulars outside the truck’s scheduled weekly appearances.
“Basically every market we go to, we can have a huge line and lot of repeat customers. Sometimes we’ll see the same faces three or four markets in a row,” he told PerthNow.
“We thought the demand is definitely there, and we want to branch out, we want to scale up and have multiple stores and maybe franchise down the track as well. So this just seemed like the logical step, and the opportunity at Crown sort of popped up.”
Camera IconTaco Daddy is parking up at Crown Perth in its first permanent outlet. Credit: Alex Verhagen
Keeping customers in the loop via social media, boasting an Instagram following of almost 20k, you’ll find Mr Thornton and his team at Scarborough Sunset Markets on Thursdays, Perth Twilight Food Market on Fridays, Subiaco Night Market on Saturdays, and South Perth Streats on Sundays.
But don’t think his new venture means shutting up his mobile shop, with the founder promising to drive both in tandem.
“What I love about the truck is you’re right there with the customers, you’re face to face,” he said.
“You’re on the front line, and you’ve got that discourse, the conversation between the customer at the front, I’ll definitely be doing that still.”
Priding himself on the personalised customer experience he’s cultivated behind the counter, Mr Thornton said the idea to launch his street eats in 2022 was inspired by his travels through the regions his products were born.
Beginning his cooking journey at 16, the chef has enjoyed stints in fine dining restaurants, worked off-shore, and after visiting Central America and South America several years ago, found his culinary calling.
“I always had that voice in the back of my head that I wanted to work for myself, wanted my own place, my own restaurant, and didn’t really know what that looked like,” the founder said.
Camera IconBirria tacos. Credit: Alex Verhagen
“And then I fell in love with street food in South America and Central America, and it seemed like the next step, so just walked straight into that full time.”
Serving what he believes are traditional birria tacos, Mr Thornton’s menu is entirely gluten free.
He said the key to showstopping tacos is consistency, as well as a great balance of flavour. And he’s willing to import only the most authentic spices to get it, sourcing international smoked chillis and Mexican oregano.
Mr Thornton said it’s all worth it when his customers taco’ bout his products so effusively.
“We get a lot of Mexicans, a lot of Americans that obviously grew up in the south of America, that grew up on tacos. And we’ve heard we remind them of home,” Mr Thornton said.
“(They say) ‘Man, these are the best tacos we’ve had in Australia’. It’s cool to hear it.”
Camera IconTaco Daddy’s Sam Thornton. Credit: Alex Verhagen
The chef admits those trying his products for the first time might be surprised to learn that, while his team is heavily South American, he himself is not.
“A lot of our staff, they speak Spanish. I speak pretty poorly, but I try here and there. I think that’s why I grew the moustache to try and fit in and look a little more authentic,” he joked.
Customers who have followed Taco Daddy’s journey from its early days might recall the truck’s traditional soft tortilla street-style tacos, which will be reprised at Crown Perth, and featured alongside their famed quesa birria tacos with accompanying consomme for dipping.
And in an expanded menu, the new venue will also be offering a caramel flan dessert, as well as a tuna ceviche — all 100 per cent gluten free.
Taco Daddy’s permanent home will operate seven days a week, opening for lunch from Monday to Thursday 11am-2:30pm, and reopening from 5pm-9pm.
While weekend revellers can float through anytime from 11am-midnight on both Friday and Saturday, with Sunday closing at 9pm.
However, if you ask Mr Thornton, there’s no bad time to enjoy his mouth-watering favourites.
“We’ve done breakfast events where people are smashing tacos at 8am, so I don’t think there’s ever a bad time. Obviously, I’m very biased,” he teased.
Taco Daddy will join American-based venues Side Piece Pizza, Burgers by ES, and Tekka Bar, alongside several homegrown names in the entertainment precinct’s largest development in more than a decade.
The permanent fixture is set to open April 17.