Talkin’ Tacos—a concept that’s surged to nearly 40 locations and over $80 million in sales in just six years—spawned from a card game.
Around June 2020, cofounders and childhood best friends Mohammad Farraj and Omar Al-Massalkhi landed on the idea for a new Mexican concept. The vision wasn’t far-fetched. Al-Massalkhi had previous experience in the restaurant industry and had an extra food truck that he wasn’t using amid the COVID outbreak.
The plan came to life by September 10 in Miami, with the initial hope of earning an extra $500 per month, which wasn’t a small figure for either of them, considering both were married and had children. Farraj was still in school pursuing dentistry at this point, too.
- Founders: Mohammad Farraj and Omar Al-Massalkhi
- Headquarters: Broward County
- Annual Sales: $82 Million
- Total Units: 37
The food truck opened every day at 6 p.m. because the duo spent the mornings prepping ingredients. The first few months were uneventful. Talkin’ Tacos sold about 10 meals per day until a TikTok video went viral. It wasn’t from an influencer; just a regular customer with a couple hundred followers who posted about a food truck serving birria tacos in Miami on Biscayne Boulevard. Overnight, tens of thousands of people viewed the video.
“We had customers that were driving five hours from Orlando. We had a customer who came and said she was from Guatemala. She flew in after she saw the video,” Farraj says. “… The lines just kept coming. And we would just tell them, ‘We’re so sorry. We don’t have enough food. We’ll be ready tomorrow for you guys.’ We thought it was a fluke, it wasn’t going to continue, and then the day after and the day after and, genuinely, it was like a blessing that came, and it just never stopped.”
With lines wrapped around the block, Talkin’ Tacos used that momentum to close the food truck and open its first brick-and-mortar store in May 2021.
The chain prides itself on birria tacos, in addition to a full lineup of other tacos, burritos, quesadillas, bowls, and specialties, such as a Crispy Stack Wrap, Birria Ramen, Tomato Basil Ramen, and Birria Grilled Cheese.
As of mid-July, the company had 37 locations in Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, New York, Texas, and Washington, D.C., growth that occurred without any outside investment. The first location was entirely bootstrapped; Farraj and Al-Massalkhi painted the walls and tables and renovated the kitchen and bathrooms.
“This lasted for probably the first two years,” Farraj says. “It really allowed us to have a very low startup cost for the restaurant from start to finish, and it allowed us to expand debt free.”
In the first two years, Talkin’ Tacos debuted three locations. The rest of the footprint came online over the past three and a half years.
By 2022, the chain was getting hounded by countless franchising inquiries. The demand was so high that Farraj and Al-Massalkhi signed three franchise locations in New York, Jacksonville, Florida, and Orlando. While those units have done well, the rest of expansion—including plans to double in size over the next 16 months—will be all corporately owned restaurants.
Stores are based in inline or endcap locations, with the average square footage between 1,800 and 2,200. However, some are as low as 1,500, and others are as big as 3,500 square feet—the point being, the chain works with what it gets and takes a plug-and-play approach, according to Al-Massalkhi. The brand opened its first standalone drive-thru late last year near Miami International Airport.
All of it has been done purely through cash flow.
“We have a very healthy business,” Farraj says. “Our AUVs are relatively high compared to industry average for Mexican restaurants. We’ve done a very good job at controlling costs, whether it’s labor costs or it is cost of goods.”
Along the way, training systems were built in-house. Farraj calls it “somewhat primitive, but very efficient,” and the results back him up. Talkin’ Tacos has an 81 percent retention rate for hourly employees and a 94 percent retention rate for store-level management. Also, labor costs are below 19 percent.
Those figures translate to better customer service. Both founders recognize Talkin’ Tacos isn’t a full-service restaurant with a server or busser, but they want to give the same level of hospitality. The team runs a 105-point inspection at every location, every day.
Additionally, the brand employs a group that monitors guest interactions via video cameras. If a customer wasn’t greeted properly, they’ll alert the manager. The same goes for if a guest has been waiting too long for their food.
“We take a lot of pride in providing the absolute best customer service and the absolute best quality of food,” Farraj says. “The best customer service entails the entire front of the house operation. Is every single customer being spoken to? Are the tables being cleaned in a properly timed manner? Are the bathrooms constantly cleaned? A lot of those systems that we developed are really focused on making sure that when a customer comes in, they are being greeted when they sit down.”
To help with expansion outside of Florida, Talkin’ Tacos promotes from within. General managers who proved themselves and captured the culture have taken on growth opportunities in other states. Also, the brand created a training team that travels to outside markets and remains in place for a couple of months to ensure everything is up to standard.
Inside the Sunshine State, Talkin’ Tacos has built significant awareness as the official taco partner for the Miami Dolphins—a partnership it’s had since 2023. In some instances, Dolphins cheerleaders or retired alumni will attend grand opening events.
Al-Massalkhi says the company’s willingness to bet on unconventional ideas continues to shape its expansion strategy.
“We took the concept [birria tacos] from California and New York. We saw them doing it. And at first, we were skeptical. Who wants a hot cup of soup with their tacos? Getting it down here in South Florida, it’s pretty hot, but we took that lead, and we took that chance,” Al-Massalkhi says.
