SNAPSHOT — Taco Bamba

Taco Bamba

NEIGHBORHOOD FOCUS DOESN’T DETER GROWTH

Chef Victor Albisu

The Greek gyros-inspired Pork Chopolopolous: gyros-spiced pork, black olive salsa macha, garlic mint cucumber yogurt | BY ED AVIS | When a James Beard Award-level chef launches a fast-casual concept, customers probably expect a simplified version of the chef’s typical cuisine. That’s hardly the case with Taco Bamba, an expanding chain of taquerias helmed by Chef Victor Albisu.

“Most restaurants offer you three of any taco, meaning you have to get three of the same thing. I never understood that – what if I want this or that taco?” says Albisu, who launched the chain in 2013. “So, not only did we decide to go individual on all levels, but we doubled down on how elaborate and unique the tacos are. We treat them as if they were important little dishes in an important little restaurant.”

The menu at each Taco Bamba location is tailored for the community. Some standard tacos such as carne asada and chicken tinga are made at each location, but other menu items reflect the environment or the culinary teams’ passions.

The location in Landmark, Virginia, for example, offers the Hi-Ribster taco (bbq pork shoulder, morita slaw, pickled onion, jalapeño, cilantro), which pays homage to a beloved local restaurant. The Fairfax, Virginia location has the Robinson Ramen taco (noodles, shoyu carnitas, salsa Machado, canned corn, scallions, togarashi tartar), which takes its name from a nearby high school and the ramen noodle idea from Albisu’s alma mater, George Mason University, which is across the street.

“Most of the menu is dedicated to honoring the neighborhood,” says Albisu, a semi-finalist for James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef – Mid Atlantic award in 2016. “We like to have the people in the neighbor-

“Most of the menu is dedicated to honoring the neighborhood. We like to have the people in the neighborhood understand that we write the menu for them, but it also has to be something challenging and new and creative.”

– CHEF VICTOR ALBISU

“It’s a real challenge to scale a brand and a concept. Unlike most fast casuals, we have larger menus and have to carry a lot of ingredients, and that can be challenging to the staff, especially in a time when the labor market has been difficult.”

– CHEF VICTOR ALBISU

hood understand that we write the menu for them, but it also has to be something challenging and new and creative.”

That attention to great tacos has paid off. The company grew slowly in its early years and ended 2021 with six locations. But in 2022, powered by a new partnership with Investors Management Corporation, one location has joined the Taco Bamba family, with three more on the drawing board – all located in the D.C./Maryland/Virginia (DMV) area. But soon, Taco Bambas may start appearing elsewhere.

“We’re focused on the DMV area right now, but we’re hoping to grow

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nationally,” Albisu says. “That’s definitely in the future.”

TACKLING CHALLENGES OF EXPANSION

Growing a complex concept such as Taco Bamba is not simple. Fast casual restaurants with multiple locations often have lean menus that are easily reproduced, something that would not match Taco Bamba’s vibe.

“It’s a real challenge to scale a brand and a concept. Unlike most fast casuals, we have larger menus and have to carry a lot of ingredients, and that can be challenging to the staff, especially in a time when the labor market has been difficult,” Albisu says. “For example, the Taco Bamba [skirt steak, chorizo, grilled guacamole, cotija, pickled onion, pickled fresno, cilantro, chicharron] takes nine steps to make, so from the labor perspective, the only type of employee who works here is one who really enjoys making this type of product.”

Albisu says Investors Management Corporation has been like a “strong and calm and wise wind” at his back. The investment firm is the parent of Golden Corral restaurants and Arcadia Beverage, a contract beverage manufacturer.

Albisu made his name as a fine dining chef. His first restaurant, Del Campo, was an upscale South American grill that Esquire magazine named a Best New Restaurant in 2013. And in 2020, the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington named another of his projects, Poco Madre, Upscale Casual Restaurant of the Year.

Does he dream of returning to the white tablecloth world?

“I’m someone who is very much in the moment, and I think the roots of success of any business are what you dedicate yourself to,” he says. “So, if [a return to fine dining] is something that one day makes sense, it would not be off the table, but right now I’m fully dedicated to this brand.”

Ed Avis is the publisher of el Restaurante.