Creative CONCEPTS THE TRIO BEHIND COYO TACO TALKS TIPS AND TRICKS OF THE FOOD TRADE

BY LINDA MARX

The restaurant business is notorious for its high rate of failure. So what does it take to have multiple successful concepts and locations with lines out the door? Just ask Sven Vogtland and Alan Drummond, the co-owners of Mexican taqueria Coyo Taco (complete with its adjacent speakeasies and mezcalerias).

The pair met in 2008 while working at The Ritz-Carlton, St. Thomas. “I wanted to open a taco concept in the Middle East when I lived there,” says Drummond, “but the timing was off.” On a visit to Miami, the pair saw the potential in then up-and-coming Wynwood, where they opened their first Coyo Taco location in 2014, a move that Drummond calls “one of the best decisions we made.”

Together with chef Scott Linquist, the team has expanded Coyo Taco to Brickell, Coral Gables, South Miami, and Fort Lauderdale, with a Doral location opening later this year. And then there are the international locales, including Santo Domingo, Paris, and Lisbon, with more expansions in the works.

But Coyo is just one of the concepts that have sprung from the minds of these creative restaurateurs; others include 1-800-Lucky (with Gabriela “Gaby” Chiriboga), The Oasis, Serena Rooftop, Los Buenos, Como Como, and Mezcalista, to name a few. Vogtland and Drummond are also partners in Dante’s Hi-Fi, Miami’s first-ever vinyl record bar.

The keys to their success? “We do quality checks and hire talented people who are specific to the role they will play in the brand,” Vogtland says of their 600 employees. “We travel a lot together and separately, and stay on top of what we see so we can continue to offer novel food concepts to Miami. This is very important to all of us.”

Adds Drummond: “We also don’t cut corners. We hand-press all of the tortillas at our Coyo locations. We still use Haas avocados for guacamole and import our cheese from Mexico, although we would have a much better margin by using other products. But we get the best quality this way and it’s more authentic, which is at the core of our brands.”

Both Drummond and Vogtland are music buffs, and they say music plays a big role in their plans for their brand, too. Case in point: Travis Scott has performed at the Coyo Taco Wynwood location; performer Leon Bridges and DJ/record producer Kaytranada have been featured at Dante’s Hi-Fi.

“There is so much opportunity now,” Drummond says of the mashup of the food and entertainment businesses. “We’re always on the hunt for what’s missing in Miami. We want to advance the cultural and music side of Miami and push that forward through our food concepts and programming. It is the right time to be opening concepts in Miami.” (coyo-taco.com) «