 Why West Lorne? When I was driving to meet the owners of SoSo's Breakfast Tacos, Kris Melhuish and Jess Watson, for the first time, this was one of the questions I was determined to ask. Part of me was certain the answer would be straightforward: "we grew up here" or "we have family here." But the real story is so much better. The decision started with something closer to trial and error, balancing market days, taking whatever spots were available, and seeing what felt right for the couple. It was testing, mostly, to see if this breakfast taco idea could actually work. But it ends with community. Spending every other Sunday at the Dutton Farmers' Market, they found connection, welcoming smiles, and a community that was ready for something a little different. Through relationships built there, the pair connected with a local realtor, and the Graham Road storefront they saw first became their new home.
Kris and Jess may not have set out to be anything more than a taco stand with a Blackstone griddle, but they've built something bigger by combining what each of them brings to it. Jess spent years working in Dallas, on teams opening both fine dining restaurants and fast food locations across the US, and it shows in how the kitchen moves even on a slammed Saturday morning, tight, coordinated, like a team that's done this at scale before. Kris is the one out front, easy in conversation, the kind of person who remembers names and orders alike. Together they've turned that into a place that reads as an unexpected discovery, drawing people in from Windsor to London and, every so often, a little further than that. Jess and Kris noticed a gap at the farmers' markets they visited: a hot breakfast that was still easy to eat while walking around and browsing. Breakfast tacos, a staple in Texas but not something anyone here was really doing, filled that gap with something new. Because size and wrapping style matter, these breakfast saviours may be mistaken for burritos. It's an intentional choice, meant to keep them mobile and stuffed full of flavour without falling apart in your hands.
Getting to know Jess and Kris, it's obvious they're passionate about community building, good food, and their pets. SoSo's is named after their (mostly) Chihuahua, Sofi, adopted from Texas, which is just one more reason behind the Tex-Mex inspired menu. She's also, in a roundabout way, the catalyst for one of the more interesting lessons of this whole story: how to pivot, and pivot quickly, when your market is telling you something isn't working. Early on, some of their branding got read very differently by the community than they'd intended, closer to a dog treat company than a breakfast spot. It's the kind of mix-up that could easily rattle a new business, and many small businesses learn this lesson late or struggle to learn it at all because of sunk costs and the fear of starting over. Kris and Jess didn't have that problem, at least not for long. They took the feedback, refined the branding to bring more clarity to what they were actually offering, and got bolder rather than more cautious.
That same instinct shows up in how Jess builds the menu, constantly asking what's working and what could work better. Wednesdays used to just be the quiet day; every business has one. Rather than ride it out, Jess and Kris started running a Smashburger, just on Wednesdays, more or less as a one-off experiment to give people a reason to come in midweek. It worked. Then it kept working, to the point that Wednesday is now one of their busiest days, with people driving in from as far as Windsor and London specifically for it, including a visit from local food reviewer Big Dave a few weeks back. It's still the only day you can get it, which turns out to be a pretty smart way to run a limited item. It protects the taco identity of the place while giving people a second reason to show up mid-week.
Since I was already making the trip, I figured lunch was a good idea. I hadn't specifically planned for a Wednesday, but I'm glad it worked out that way, since it meant I could try both the dish that built the dream, the Chicken and Waffle Taco, and the one that changed the game, the Smashburger. I can be hesitant about food that mixes sweet and savoury; too often it does one well and not the other. But on that Blackstone, Jess found the right heat to balance the maple, and the textures of the waffle and egg held up against the chicken in a way that had me thinking about that first bite well after I'd finished. The Smashburger is just as deliberate. Served on a ciabatta bun with fresh, mostly local produce, it's a burger that tastes exactly like a burger should and holds its shape in your hands rather than falling apart. The food alone would mark SoSo's as a destination, but so does the care Kris and Jess put into restoring the space itself, balancing the building's historic bones with a more modern feel. There's a community table built into the layout, meant to create room for conversation, a chance to pause with neighbours or with someone you just met. Recently, they added a patio out front too, giving more people a place to sit a while with an iced coffee and a house-made cookie. The pistachio cookie also incorporates spent ingredients from the brewing process of Natterjack Brewing Company’s Belgian Blonde, Natterjack Toad.
If you go
1 Comment
Jim Atkinson
7/26/2026 02:57:46 pm
Great article. Met Jess and Kris when attending the Dutton Farmers Market. Knew right away these two were special. Our first time at SoSos was a wonderful reunion. I often say to my wife that I need my fix of Jess and Kris let's get a taco. I can honestly say there is not one menu item I don't like. Leave a Reply. |
