Downtown Belton has its first and only taquería, and it opened with a menu bold enough to include cow tongue. Taqueria San Pedro started serving street tacos on homemade tortillas about a week before it was reported on Thursday, taking over a storefront at 418 Main St. that used to be a popcorn shop.
The new spot is the newest and only taquería in downtown Belton, according to The Kansas City Star. Owner Omar Rizo converted the space from Omar's Famous Popcorn, which had operated as a paleteria and popcorn shop, into a full taco restaurant. The roughly 1,200-square-foot restaurant now has a bar, tables and an outdoor patio for customers who want to eat in.
Cow Tongue, Birria and Six Other Street Taco Fillings
The menu leans heavily into traditional street-taco territory. Alongside cow tongue, diners can order carnitas, chorizo, suadero, pollo al pastor, birria, beef tripe and cow head, all served on tortillas made in house. The tortilla chips come fresh from the fryer, and each street taco runs $4.
Beyond the tacos, the menu stretches into quesadillas, wings, nachos, sopapillas and flan for those craving something outside the taco lineup. Bigger-ticket items include quesabirrias for $14, carne asada for $16, tortas for $13.50 and papas locas also priced at $13.50. Taqueria San Pedro is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., giving Belton residents a late-night option most days.
Owner Says He No Longer Has to Leave Town for Tacos
Rizo told the Star he used to have to go out of town just to find good tacos, and he now considers San Pedro one of the only places in the southern suburb serving what he'd call authentic tacos. That gap in the local dining scene appears to be part of what pushed him to reimagine his existing popcorn business into a taquería rather than opening something new from scratch.
So far, the response from the neighborhood has him feeling good about the decision. Rizo said customers have already returned once, twice and even four times since opening, and he described himself as happy to be in Belton and blessed by how locals have responded.
Belton's Broader Mexican Food Scene
Taqueria San Pedro isn't the only Mexican restaurant option in Belton, though it appears to be downtown's only taquería specifically. Other Mexican restaurants in the city include Emiliano's Mexican Cuisine on U.S. Highway 71, Bonito Casa on East North Avenue and Cinco de Mayo Taqueria y Carniceria on North Scott Avenue, according to the Star's reporting. A Tripadvisor page ranking Belton's Mexican restaurants also lists names like Jose Pepper's, whose Belton location sits on East North Avenue, alongside Casa Mexico and Mi Rancho Mexican Cantina, per Tripadvisor. Still, for anyone wanting street tacos specifically in the heart of downtown, Rizo's new spot is now the place to go.
