Taco House Co. owner and director Aurora Alcocer grew up in Monterrey, Mexico with her parents who ran and owned two taquerias. She and her husband first moved to St. Thomas in 2009, and although they have moved around a few times since then, they always returned to St. Thomas. “It was a smaller community at that time, but it was so welcoming and warm,” Aurora fondly smiled. “This is home for us.” Since then, they have had 4 children, and Aurora’s parents have joined them, reuniting their family. One of Aurora’s core values is cultural bonding and connection. Her children are bilingual, and that provides them with the ability to connect with not only their grandparents here in St. Thomas, but also with their remaining family members in Mexico. It also means that they still are able to learn both Canadian and Mexican culture, something which, alongside Aurora’s parents, inspired the creation of Taco House Co. Back in July 2023, Aurora was debating opening her own business after completing her Bachelor’s Degree in Education and studying French. “I wanted to open my own business for education, and I was just thinking of what’s the next step, and then here come my parents and they say there’s no tacos in town. [So I said] alright, what’s your proposal?” Aurora laughed. “Initially it was their idea to start a taco business.” Her parents actually thought about doing a food truck, but it did not fit with their timeline or logistics. With her parents having over 30 years of experience running taquerias in Mexico, they had lots of ideas and authentic recipes, so that the business could provide the real, authentic tacos and food that they were missing and craving. “When we go to Mexico, the first place we want to go is to eat street tacos,” Aurora said. Although they call the restaurant Taco House Co, the real name is Mexican Street Tacos Company, in homage to the types of authentic street tacos in Mexico that inspired the business, and the authentic products Taco House Co. serves. Together, Aurora and her parents began to create the business plans for Taco House Co. in October of 2023. They collaborated with the St. Thomas Small Business Enterprise Centre (SBEC) and the Elgin Business Resource Centre (EBRC), which helped them connect with other business owners, resources, find suppliers, and helped find the best possible solutions to many parts of the growing business. “The process of building [a business] is way more than just getting tortillas and putting meat inside,” Aurora laughed. “It’s been really good to have that support, and they have a lot of connections.” One of the connections partnered her with an Aylmer based small business called Paleta Passion, run by Christina Friesen, who makes authentic Mexican desserts. Through SBEC and EBRC, Aurora was able to connect with Christina, and Taco House Co. now carries some delicious paletas. Taco House Co. strives to show, in the words of Aurora, “a modern Mexico.” They did not want their company or their food to be bottlenecked by stereotypes, or one small facet of the large, multilayered country that is Mexico. Since the beginning of the business, Aurora and her family wanted to capture the essence of modern Mexico. “We want to show that Mexico is not only mariachi, sombreros and iguanas,” Aurora explained. “Mexico is a modern country that represents many other things.” Aurora and her family are proud to add to the diversity of offerings in St. Thomas, and feel blessed to be representing their Mexican culture, backgrounds, and communities. “This is the kind of food that my children love, and if I can feed my children this food then anybody can have it,” Aurora smiled. Taco House Co. offers signature authentic Mexican street tacos, made with their homemade non-gmo and gluten free tortillas (available for purchase), with fillings including steak, barbacoa, chicken, and even a vegetarian filling made with portabella mushrooms, zucchini, and eggplant (which you can order in tray sizes for catering as well). Their tacos are made with homemade tortilla chips, and they are rolling out signature dishes, including flautas (rolled chicken tacos, deep fried and dipped in guacamole and sour cream, topped with lettuce, cheese and salsa) and huaraches (an oval corn tortilla topped with refried beans, cheese, protein of your choice and toppings). They carry Mexican drinks, like Jarritos and Jumex, and Mexican desserts like paletas, tres leches cake, and arroz con leche. Their tortillas, proteins, toppings, guacamole and salsa are all made fresh in house. Aurora says that freshness is key, and they are consistently making fresh batches of meats, guacamole, pico de gallo and toppings; sometimes even twice a day. “We go back to how it’s made in Mexico,” Aurora explained. “We season our meats, prepare them, and make more batches. In Mexico that’s the way it is. They prepare the meat in front of you, put them in the taco and there you go.” Along with serving authentic and modern Mexican cuisine, Aurora wants to be able to transport her customers to a happy place, to let them experience the colours and flavours of Mexico, even if it is just an average day for them. “I want them to feel like they are in Mexico, [to] feel the heat, the warmth of the people that work here, and to put a smile on their face,” Aurora smiled. “The bonus is the taco.” The community support for Taco House Co. has been great, and it has continued to grow with the business. Aurora loves seeing existing customers and new customers alike, and she cherishes being able to provide them with delicious, quality, authentic Mexican cruising. “People come and they sit at our little ledge and they taste the tacos, and I can see their expressions, their delight, and they come and say that was delicious, and for us that’s like alright, we have done something right,” Aurora proudly smiles. They welcome feedback, and are always looking to improve their service, and Aurora hopes in the future to be able to introduce more of her team members to her customers, so they can get to know the family and team behind the food. “Having approachability is so important because I want people to feel that this is a place to be, for everybody,” said Aurora. As Taco House Co. continues to expand their offerings and roll out more authentic, signature Mexican offerings, their quality and commitment to freshness remains at the forefront of their family owned and run business.
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