The World Needs Better Tacos

The world needs better tacos...and with your support John will make it happen! 

Our daughter Sophia:  'Mommy, why do you have to talk to everyone?  You talk too much and ask sooooo many questions.'

Me:  'Well, (a few seconds of a speechless me - shocking, I know) you're right.  It's who I am.  And you sure like when my talking and questions benefit you."

Sophia:  Crickets - had no rebuttal to that!

 
HELLO Family, Friends, and anyone out there who finds our campaign.    This is me talking too much and asking questions.  This may be a little long, but I want to give the full story so you know how much this means…

I'll start with my fantastic news.  I'm retiring at the end of April 2020 with a 20 year career with the City of Austin Convention Center.  It's been an incredible phase of my life and I can't put into proper words how blessed and thankful I am for even having the opportunity to retire with a great pension.    I'm down to 100 actual workdays - you bet I'm counting!  But this isn't about me...
 
It's about John.  His life experiences, journey, skills, and everything in between seem to have come full circle.   It's his time.  John is opening a food truck - Bandit Tacos!  With  your support he can get over the final hump sooner...and the adventure of giving the world better tacos will begin.    

How did he get here? 

 John grew up with some family challenges and he credits food and music with keeping him on the right path.  His first love is music and had the great experience of being in several bands that toured nationally and abroad.  His degree is in Anthropology but followed his other love, food and cooking.   In college he and a friend had a food truck and traveled to festivals on the weekends...way before food trucks were even a thing.  
 
Fast forward to now:  he's been in the restaurant/bar/food and beverage management business for over 20 years.  This industry sucks you in.  And it's brutal.  In the past 10 years he's been with several F/B companies and they are all alike, but in a bad way.  No loyalty to employees, work you hard until burn out, and worst of all?  Let me put it like this, 'you screw up, you move up' while the truly good and deserving employees are left wondering why their hard work means nothing. 

 If you know John, I hope you’ve noticed that he has the most amazing work ethic, is loyal to his employer (usually to a fault), and brings so much to the table, including his silly and goofy personality.  He’s all about supporting and helping his employees grow and they love him for it.  Regardless, he's gotten the short end of the stick way too many times.   Enough is Enough.

 It's scary and exciting that we're beginning new adventures at the same time.  But we are all in!  It's now or never.  It's time to take total control and make things happen.  He knows exactly what to expect because he's done it all - creating his own recipes,  menus, cooking, running a kitchen, running front of house, and most important, knowing the financial side of this industry.  Well, even more important is that he loves to share his food and make people smile.  I guarantee he'll be in a taco suit connecting with every single person that stops by Bandit Tacos.  He has the whole package to succeed and I know he’ll give it his all and then some.  Several other concepts are on his mind…could it be the start of an empire?  Why not!  Dream BIG right?

 If you've read up until now, thank you. 

Your support for John and Bandit Tacos would be amazing.  No matter what you can and want to give, all of it will help and is sincerely appreciated.    

 He's secured the funds to purchase the trailer and build to specifications.  What's not yet completely secure is the funding to open as soon as the trailer is done, and to open 100% the right way.  

 Donated funds will go towards so much, including cooking equipment, supplies, advertising, a trailer wrap, and provide an operating cushion for the crucial first couple of months of business.    

The food truck is named after our dog Bandit.  She’s somewhat famous for competing and placing in the semi-finals at the Buda Weiner Dog Races the last 3 years.  Our logo perfectly captures her too-big-eyes-for-her-body and crazy personality.  Perhaps a Bandit Taco will get her to the podium next year.  In the spirit of paying it forward and to honor Bandit and all fur babies out there, a portion of the donated proceeds will go to https://pawsshelter.org/

 We're on target to open mid-January.  Ideally the goal is met (dare we say exceeded) by the end of December, and the campaign will continue into the new year.   

It's strange how the universe works.   Several factors fell into place the last couple of years to get us both to where we are now.  My adventure literally fell into my backyard, and Bandit Tacos will be based there.  Sunfield Station is a 60,000 sf sports complex, including a 10,000 sf event center.  It's literally across the pond that our house backs up to and I'm the Events Manager helping open the events side from scratch.  On the sports side, we will host over 23 volleyball and basketball tournaments through July alone and they offer such a great 'guarantee of people' who will see Bandit Tacos.  The food truck scene is just now starting in Buda and Kyle and we will be on the forefront.  

Things that seemed like random and unrelated life decisions at the time now seem like fate that led us here, now,  where we're supposed to be.   

 Please share this campaign with family, friends,  colleagues and anyone you know looking for a local start up business to support. 

Social media will soon begin - follow Bandit Tacos and our exciting journey @ 
https://www.facebook.com/BanditTacos/
Twitter and Instagram to launch in the near future. 

 We appreciate and are grateful for your love and support, so thank you from the bottom of our hearts.  You will always be part of our Bandit Tacos family and we can't wait to invite you to the grand opening.  

Sincerely, 
Rocio