Miguel Roman started selling tacos out of a truck parked in front of Star Lumber on West Street five years ago, and now he's about to plant a second brick-and-mortar restaurant just blocks from where it all began. Roman and his wife, Epifania, won the recent auction for the 1,731-square-foot building at 503 N. West St., and in about a month he plans to open a second Tacos Uruapan there.
The couple launched the Tacos Uruapan food truck in the summer of 2021, according to the Wichita Eagle. Business was slow at first, but the Romans kept the truck parked at the same West Street spot and quickly built a loyal clientele. That early grind eventually led them to open a stand-alone Tacos Uruapan restaurant in a new building they constructed at 819 S. Broadway.
From a Slow Start to a Second Storefront
The West Street building Roman just won at auction has its own local history. El Ricardo's Mexican Food operated out of the space for a decade before closing this summer, the Wichita Eagle's report notes, leaving the storefront open for a new tenant. Roman is now remodeling the space for his second location.
“I think it's worth it. It's on West Street. I might as well give it a try,” Roman said, per the same account. The new restaurant will carry the same menu as the South Broadway location, plus additional items like stews and margaritas, and it will include both a drive-through and seating for dine-in customers.
Same Authentic Menu, New Late-Night Hours
Tacos Uruapan built its name on authentic Mexican dishes rather than Tex-Mex-style fare, serving tacos, burritos, tortas, enchiladas, birria ramen, pork platters and asada fries, the article notes. The restaurant is also known for its hand-made tortillas. The name itself nods to a city in west-central Mexico.
Roman said he plans to keep the new West Street restaurant open until 3 or 4 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights, per the report. He intends to keep running the food truck in front of Star Lumber until the restaurant opens, and afterward he'll likely use it for special events rather than retire it entirely.
A Path From the Body Shop to the Taco Stand
Roman was born and raised in Los Angeles before family members drew him to Wichita 16 years before the article's publication, according to the same source. Before tacos, he opened Roman's Body Shop at 1024 S. Broadway, and he started a car lot at 1536 S. Meridian and bought apartments near it.
Looking further ahead, Roman wants to eventually add a third restaurant on the east side of Wichita, with Andover floated as one possibility, though the outlet's report describes that only as an idea without a confirmed site or timeline. For now, the focus is getting the West Street doors open, in a city where other taco operations, including Rico's Tacos El Torito's truck on North Broadway, show the local appetite for the format remains strong.
Tacos Uruapan's brick-and-mortar debut on South Broadway last year already expanded its menu to include dishes like menudo, pozole and chilaquiles alongside seating that the original truck never offered, according to Wichita By E.B.. The South Broadway location is a custom-built space designed specifically for the business.
