For Marquette resident Mike Walker, opening a restaurant has seemed to be in the cards for a while, but it was a winding path and a love for one particular food item that led to the idea for Dia de los Tacos, Marquette’s own mobile taco truck.

Walker, who has been working in the restaurant business in some capacity or another since the age of 15, said the idea of bringing mobile-food to the community started after spending time away from Marquette, where he grew up.

“When I first started thinking about returning to Marquette after almost 20 years in Detroit, and then Portland (Ore.), the plan was for my wife and I to open a restaurant,” Walker said.

Spending three years in Portland, the home of a vibrant mobile-food culture, sparked the interest in opening something similar, Walker said. When Walker and his wife, Teri, moved back to Marquette, they both took up different jobs.

“I was working as a manager and promoter at the Upfront, and Teri was a document controller for one of the mines,” Walker said. “When the Upfront closed, 85 of my friends started applying for the same nonexistent jobs. In light of the complete lack of possible employment options, we thought it might be time to try our own.”

Walker’s thoughts turned back to opening a food truck, which he saw as an interesting alternative to a brick-and-mortar restaurant. The question of what to serve, and where, was a no-brainer, he said.

“I really love tacos,” Walker said. “Ask anyone who knows me, it’s kind of ridiculous. We’ll be around late night at the bars, after sporting events, the ski hill and even just around lunch. We plan to target three different places per day and announce locations via Twitter and Facebook.”

Dia de los Tacos will be offering gluten-free menu items, which were an important part of the project. As someone with a gluten intolerance, Walker said it can be difficult to eat out.

“I know there are lots of people in the area that also eat a gluten-free diet, and hopefully they’ll feel comfortable trying anything that we offer,” Walker said.

The recipe that has Walker most excited is a handmade chorizo, or mexican pork sausage, taco and the black bean option, as well as pupusas, which are tortillas filled with cheese, pork and beans.

For junior marketing major Guy McCarthy, who grew up around Chicago, Marquette has been in dire need for more Mexican food options.

“It seems like everyone is always saying we could use more Mexican food, like a burrito or taco place that you might find in a big city,” McCarthy said. “A place that offers simple, inexpensive tacos seems like it would make a killing.”

McCarthy, who often gigs as a drummer downtown until bar close, said the late-night food scene has been lacking, especially since the the closing of the Upfront.

“It was cool that you could get decent food at the Upfront right inside the front door until 2 a.m., but now you’re pretty much limited to hot dogs.”

Walker said the response in the early stages of planning has been great, especially in the first two weeks since he created a Facebook page for Dia de los Tacos.

“I feel like the area is really ready to embrace the concept of mobile food, and they have been really supportive,” said Walker, who plans on hitting the streets early in 2013.

Dia de los Tacos will be making its first public appearance at the Ore Dock Brewery on New Year’s Eve.
For more information, call (906)361-3740 or visit www.facebook.com/DiaDeLosTacos.