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FARM TO TACO Continued from page 44

“We share the CEO role,” Wilkerson says. “Ro- berto’s very much more on the culinary kitchen side, and I’m more in the operations side. But it works well.” Tacodeli quickly earned a cult following in Austin, thanks to traditional-style street tacos that utilize fresh and locally sourced ingredi- ents. When he started Tacodeli, Espinoza knew he was going to get as much local product as possible, which put Tacodeli years ahead of the “farm-to-table” theme that is popular in many restaurants today. “Sourcing has always been a big driver for us. Back then, it was harder,” Espinoza says. “The awareness wasn’t there, and farmers and restaurants worked in a very different dynamic than they do now.” Part of the challenge for Tacodeli was build- ing relationships with suppliers who had never worked directly with a restaurant before. “It was more white-tablecloth restaurants that would do local sourcing, and that kind of drove the price up. The mindset was different from the farmer. But now, the dynamic has changed,” Espinoza explains. “Now, the partnership really works, and we love that the farmers and ranch- ers are making a living at this, because it’s one of the hardest jobs you can do.”

Akaushi hanger steak is the base for the Monday special at Tacodeli, topped with a chimichurri sauce and fresh onions. One of the most beneficial relationships for Tacodeli has been with HeartBrand Beef, which supplies the restaurant with genuine Akaushi beef. Wilkerson remembers his first exposure to Akaushi beef, by way of a feature of HeartBrand’s products in an issue of Texas Monthly magazine near the end of 2007. Wilk- erson kept that issue on his coffee table in his living room and kept coming back to the Heart- Brand story. “They had this picture of a big ribeye, the whole roast,” Wilkerson recalls. “I had had a few beers, and looked down and said, ‘Man, I really wanna grill that thing.’ It was mouthwa- tering.” However, it would be a few more years and one legendary Texas drought before Tacodeli and HeartBrand would end up working together. “We were working with Thunderheart Ranch and had their bison on the menu,” Wilkerson says. “But in 2011, the drought was so bad, and we couldn’t keep working with them.” Espinoza and Wilkerson set out to find a new beef supplier and were quickly introduced to 

LEFT: Roberto Espinoza (left) and Eric Wilkerson (right) are co-CEOs of Tacodeli. RIGHT: Tacodeli founder Roberto Espinoza joins the crew of the new Plano Tacodeli in making tacos for the lunch rush.

Akaushi Prime Time • Fall 2018

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