Mexican Restaurant Chain Coming to Milwaukee
Fast Taco, with 9 locations in Wisconsin, plans restaurant on city's Northwest Side.
Tacos. Photo by Sophie Bolich.
At Fast Taco, what you see is what you get.
“I always say, ‘if you’re hungry, come with us, because we serve you fast,”‘ said Armando Cruz, co-owner of the Mexican restaurant and grocery chain.
The family-owned business got its start in 2014, opening as a small restaurant within Lupita’s Mexican Store in Chilton. Since then, the company has grown to include nine locations throughout the state, as well as a small fleet of food trucks.
Several new locations are still on the way, said Cruz, including an eatery proposed for 10505 W. Brown Deer Rd., on Milwaukee’s Northwest Side.
Unlike previous Fast Taco locations, the upcoming restaurant will forgo its grocery services to focus on food. “We want to be more specialized,” said Cruz, who will co-own the Milwaukee business with his brother, Jesus Cruz Colchado.
Fast Taco’s straightforward menu of authentic Mexican cuisine is designed for quick-service and on-the-go eating. That includes handhelds such as tortas, burritos, quesadillas, nachos and tacos served Mexican-style with chopped cilantro and onions or American-style, topped with cheese, lettuce, tomato and sour cream. For most dishes, customers can select their meat of choice, with options including ground beef, steak, pork, chicken and tongue.
Cruz said he also hopes to offer desserts such as ice cream.
A license application for the business notes tentative plans to apply for a liquor license; however, at this time, Fast Taco has only requested a food dealer license.
Fast Taco has existing locations in Chilton, Menasha, Sheboygan, Fond du Lac, Manitowoc, Kaukauna, Appleton, Two Rivers and Green Bay. In addition to the Milwaukee restaurant, two further locations are planned in Appleton and Green Bay.
“We just like to create jobs,” said Cruz, speaking to the rapid growth of the business. “That’s our goal.”
Milwaukee’s Fast Taco will occupy a restaurant space in the same building as a Marathon gas station. Once the site of a Quiznos sandwich shop, a handful of food purveyors have operated at the address within the past decade.
Jaspal Dhaliwal, the registered agent for RSD Enterprises LLC, is the building owner.
Cruz said he hopes to open as soon as possible, following the licensing process. Once open, the business’s proposed hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
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