By Scott Cronick
Mike and Randi Talley are two of the hardest working people you will find in the local restaurant industry.
Whenever you go to their restaurant, TacocaT in Margate, or see their food truck at an event or festival, the Talleys – usually with other family members – are there.
And while there is no question that the longtime couple earned every bit of their success, they also know they are also a bit lucky … how appropriate on St. Patrick’s Day weekend.
The first bit of luck started when a location at The Exchange in Linwood became available. Mike, who was working there as a manager for the former Ernest & Sons location there, went home to his wife with an idea.
“Let’s put tacos in The Exchange,” Mike said.
Randi didn’t think it was a crazy idea.
“I think if you can envision how something can work, then I am not nervous about it,” she said. “And I could really envision how it would flow, where we would get the staff, how the kitchen would operate and how we would be efficient. So, I thought it was a great idea, and I also knew we didn’t have a lot of risk.”
Since the space already had most of the kitchen in place, it took about two months to develop the Cali-Mex menu, and a new taco place would open in December 2018 on the mainland. But what would it be called?
“My stepdaughter Sierra presented TacocaT to me, and we were like, ‘Huh?,’” Mike said. “We went to the designer and started messing with the name, and he flipped that second C around, and it just clicked. It’s a conversation piece because it’s a palindrome (a word that is the same backward and forward). I didn’t even know what a palindrome was.”
“We were banging our heads about how this name could be cool, and in five minutes the designer flipped the C and we were done,” laughs Randi. “Now, we hear customers arguing about the name. When you look at the logo, the O is in the middle, so people think it’s Taco Taco, and others get that it’s TacocaT. I don’t care what they call it as long as it is recognizable, and they argue about it publicly.”
“Two weeks before we opened, I had anxiety,” Mike said. “I opened a lot of places before, but this was ours!”
Those worries ceased when the mainland quickly embraced the superb tacos, nachos and other California-inspired Mexican cuisine TacocaT offered.
The Talleys were content, until …
Some Margate-style luck
The biggest piece of luck came from a regular customer, local legend Robert Hammerschlag, who has since passed. The former Downbeach Deli owner loved TacocaT’s food – especially the soup – but he loved something more: The Talleys’ work ethic.
In March 2019, Hammerschlag approached the Talleys to take over the small takeout space attached to Downbeach Deli with picnic tables under a pavilion that formerly housed a barbecue concept and some other concepts. He wanted to TacocaT there for that summer. It was already April.
“I said there is no way I can do that by summer,” Mike said. “He said, ‘I like what you guys do here. I always see the two of your working here. I am going to wait for you. I am not going to rent it this summer.’”
The trio came to an agreement in October to open in May 2020, but as we all know, the pandemic hit that March, initially causing the Talleys to question their decision to open a second location.
“We thought we were going to lose our business,” Mike said. “But our new point of sales system allowed us to do online ordering, and all of a sudden we are hustling.”
Yes, the pandemic actually helped businesses that specialized in takeout like TacocaT. After seeing the rush in Linwood, they decided to go ahead with Margate.
“Our model is to look for a turnkey kitchen and something that fits our production needs and outfitted with the right equipment, and the Margate location had most of that, but I had to go to our accountant for several thousand dollars. He said, ‘Can I ask what it’s for?’ And I told him I wanted to open a restaurant in Margate, and I wanted to open tomorrow because our model was so good in Linwood during the pandemic. And he said, ‘Are you sure?’ And I was so sure!”
The Talleys’ hunch paid off. When they opened in May 2020, there was a line down the street and an hour wait to get food. People weren’t even allowed to eat at the outdoor tables because of COVID restrictions, but that didn’t stop customers from coming. TacocaT Margate opened on a Wednesday, and it ran out of food by Friday and had to close for the weekend.
“We had a meeting and knew we had to figure this out, and we did,” Mike said. “We knew that on the downbeach, you have one chance: They either love you and tell everyone, or they hate you and tell everyone.”
Fortunately, the former happened as TacocaT impressed the finicky downbeach audience, making the Talleys reconsider if they should have two locations. After operating both for four months, they decided to concentrate on Margate.
“It was a good thing to focus on Margate,” said Mike, who closed the Linwood location right before Labor Day of 2020. “I loved The Exchange. That’s where the idea started, but when it came to numbers, we knew where we should be.”
“As much as we love the idea of expansion and multiple locations, we are cautious,” Randi added. “We want to be there as owners/operators.”
Realizing the potential, the Talleys approached Hammerschlag to renegotiate their lease so they could operate year round, something they didn’t even initially consider. He agreed, and the rest is history … with some of that luck!
“We got lucky Robert found us and knew we were hard workers,” Mike said. “And we grinded for that first year and haven’t looked back. I tell everyone we got lucky. It changed our lives. If Robert didn’t find us because he didn’t come to The Exchange to get his soup or whatever … I tell everyone we got lucky, but we also work our butts off and have a staff that works hard.”
Love at first sight … not
It also might be a little luck the Talleys got together in the first place.
The two met when they both worked at Harrah’s Casino more than 20 years ago. Mike, a sous chef in the coffeeshop, met Randi from food and beverage when she was sent there to fix issues they were having.
“It was not love at first sight,” Randi explained. “I was sent in like a cleaner, to tighten things up and see what was going on. For him, it was like an ‘Uh oh, here she comes!’ moment.”
Eventually, the two connected, most likely because opposites attract.
“She was always the Type A personality, and I am the Type Whatever,” said Talley, an Academy of Culinary Arts graduate at Atlantic Cape who went on to work at Chef Vola, The Claridge, Harrah’s and more. “She keeps me on point, and we work together 24/7, but it’s a great relationship. She’s smart at everything, but she pushes me to another level with this business.”
Randi, a Stockton University grad, learned the ropes in the casino biz for 32 years, mostly working for Harrah’s, Caesars and Bally’s in a wide array of jobs from valet parker to hostess to human resources to food and beverage and some more in between before landing at the former Sugar House Casino in Philadelphia – now Rivers – as Vice President of Operations.
“Sometimes, it’s all about timing,” Randi said. “You know how casinos are turning over executive teams frequently, and when Mike came to me with this idea, I was recently severanced out of Sugar House for a new team. I was thinking, ‘What am I going to do?’ I have never not worked. And when he came to me, I always say, bet on yourself, and we did! It’s hard working with someone you live with 24/7, but our skill sets are different, and we need each other to be successful, and that’s where we lucked out.”
There’s that luck again.
Why Tacos?
If you ever had TacocaT, you would think Mike has been slinging tacos his whole life. Not the case. In fact, his trial and error for the menu started after inviting friends over for a house party to taste test his creations.
“I always liked high-volume restaurants and good, fresh food that can be prepared quickly,” Mike said. “I love steakhouses and all of that, but I like quick food done well. And I thought this area really needed something like this. You can be pretty creative with tacos. Whatever we do is executed quickly. I can’t be braising stuff for 24 hours. I don’t want people waiting 45 minutes for food. I want to get that food out in 10 minutes.”
Talley does not sacrifice quality for quickness. Every ingredient is made fresh daily, including all of the proteins – ground beef, chicken jerk chicken, pork al pastor, ahi tuna, mahi, shrimp, scallops and more – sauces, even the popular hand-rolled Philadelphia cheesesteak eggrolls, one of the bar items TacocaT Margate brought over from The Exchange because of their popularity. Other popular apps include fried truffle Brussels sprouts, loaded fries and wings, including their signature sweet and spicy rum and cola wings, which won them honors at Atlantic City Wing Wars. Their most recent wings, a habanero concoction perfected by their cook Dougie, won the Damn, Those Wings are Hot trophy at this year’s Wing Fest.
TacocaT has evolved from six or seven tacos and a few items to a dozen tacos, about 10 different Fat Cat burritos that live up to their name, quesadillas, nachos and even a couple of fried seafood platters. And don’t sleep on the queso … it’s the best in the area!
“In the beginning we didn’t even have burritos until someone asked me to make them one,” Mike said. “Now, we play with specials like an octopus taco or wild mushroom taco … all of them are unique. We make everything in house and fresh.”
One of the interesting offerings is jackfruit, a vegetarian suggestion from Sierra, a registered dietician.
“I compare it to tofu because it doesn’t have flavor until you give it flavor, but it has this stringy pork texture,” Randi said. “The first time I tried it was because we made a mistake making an order, and I couldn’t believe how delicious it was.”
Make sure you also take home one of TacocaT’s bottled sauces – Feline Spicy (hot pepper sauce), Don’t Be a Pussy Cat (a scorching ghost habanero pepper sauce), Meow-Ch That’s Hot (pepper sauce) and Scorched Paws (a garlic-parm Jersey jerk sauce).
A purrfect decision
Most people have probably seen the big TacocaT food truck at an area festival or event. The most recent addition to the TacocaT family goes by the name of Kitty Cat, and it has been a huge lift for TacocaT’s business, enabling them to be mobile for catering, parties, events and festivals, including the upcoming Atlantic City Beer & Music Festival.
But the Talleys don’t seem like they are done.
“Knowing the type of person I am, plus how hard our team works and how great they are, we will be ready for expansion sooner than later,” Randi said. “I am looking for the next location. We are one true family here. Without our team, we couldn’t do this.”
Hopefully, luck will continue to be on their side.
(TacocaT is located at 8 S. Essex Ave., Margate. Call 609-246-6973 or go to Tacocatsouthjersey.com)
Scott Cronick is an award-winning journalist who has written about entertainment, food, news and more in South Jersey for nearly three decades. He hosts a daily radio show – “Off The Press with Scott Cronick” – 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays on Newstalk WOND 1400-AM, 92.3-FM, and WONDRadio.com, and he also co-owns Tennessee Avenue Beer Hall in Atlantic City, while working on various projects, including charitable efforts, throughout the area. He can be reached at scronick@comcast.net.
