Vinyl Taco — Restaurant in Fargo

If you've ever though about opening your own restaurant or bar. Do this, eat here often and take LOTS of notes!! Vinyl Taco embraces the fundamental model for success, on every level.

I was in the hospitality industry for over 22 years on a national level. Never as an owner/operator but in a consulting capacity. I learned from the most acclaimed and awarded restaurateurs in the country.

Dont copy. They don't but they do. They do tacos but Holy Christ rich Pork Belly, Crispy Fish No One in FM is doing that. It's a full blown flavor dance in your mouth. Express yourself in the decor, but you better have good taste. Well crafted and well thought through cocktails. They do this. Super Premium not just premium liquors and beers. Put things in to help educate your customers. That also created great dialogs with the bar tenders. They get to know you and in turn they take what you say and make the place better. They do this Be flexible, adjust as your customers tell you. They are right most of the time, not you. These guys get that as well. You have to go often to pick up on the subtle changes.

To hell with all my rantings,...... EAT HERE!!!! DRINK HERE!!! It's going to be one of your favorite restaurant/bars in the FM area.

I could fill pages on all the things they get right. The franchise opportunities (my background) are staggering! Buy Vinyl Taco at the IPO like you should have with Amazon, Microsoft, Apple your going to be very wealthy in a few years.

Guys I started calling on Norman Brinker in Dallas when he first purchased the first 7 yeah 7 Chili's I get the same vibe being in your store. He actually purchased them from a local Dallas guy Larry Levine for literally pennys.

Continued success my...

*Tacos are tiny and a bit overpriced. They're not bad, but they're not phenomenal either. Contrast this with JL Beers (same owners) where the food isn't cheap either but really is amazing and this was a bit of a let down.

*They also do this weird thing where each taco is served on 2 extra small, overlapping tortillas; it's a mess. Customers eat them with a fork, split each taco into 2 smaller tacos, lift them by the wax paper they're served on and try to not eat the paper, etc.

*They've done a really good job of turning a large space into something extremely cramped. When someone's sitting at the bar, only one person can walk between the patron on the bar stool and the tables pushed against the wall. When they're busy, this causes traffic jams between patrons and employees as well as other patrons.

*The homemade chips and salsa are bottomless and they're amazing. They're also only $3. If you don't plan on going home hungry, get chips for the table.

*They do have a full bar and the drinks are very well made (if a bit small and premium priced). And while you can count their tap selection on one hand, that list includes craft brews and they do have a decent bottle selection.

*The street facing wall is 2 glass garage doors and they intend to open those on warm summer nights.

*All-in-all it's not a bad place. The ambiance isn't bad, it'll be interesting to see it in the summer with the open doors, and the chips are great. If you live in town, it's worth trying out: maybe you'll like their weird little tacos...

Wow. I don’t even know what to say about this place. If I could give zero stars I would. I went in and ordered a $8.95 burrito for lunch, which came out steaming. Unfortunately it was cold on the inside. When the server came back, I apologetically asked her if she could warm it up. It had one tiny little bite out of it. She nicely said she would see what they could do and took it away. A minute later, a young guy, later identified as Dennis the assistant manager comes back to my table with my burrito with the tiny bite taken out of it. He brusquely demands to know what’s wrong with the burrito and what I expect him to do with it. I cannot believe what I am hearing. I tell him it’s cold on the inside and he proceeds to argue with me, first telling me that he saw it steaming when it was delivered and then that I waited 10 minutes before telling the waitress it was cold. Omg- it took the waitress 10 or 15 minutes to come back after I took the bite out of it and it’s not like I ate the whole thing then told them. This is ridiculous and humiliating. Seriously? Over a $9 burrito? Just remake the da** thing, don’t stand there and argue with me about it!

I tried to call the general manager Kevin Johnson twice about this situation and he never returned my calls. He was either never given my messages or decided not to call me back.

In any case, if you want to eat cold food or be argued with, go to this restaurant. If you want to be treated like a human being, go...