The First Latina, Woman-Owned Plant-Based Restaurant on the Las Vegas Strip

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When most people think of vegan food, tacos aren’t the first thing that comes to mind. 🌮 But Tacotarian is changing that narrative, one restaurant at a time. Founded two couples, Tacotarian has its roots in Mexico City. 🇲🇽 

Tacotarian has grown from a single Las Vegas spot to a regional sensation, balancing tradition, innovation, and purpose.

Tacotarian first opened in 2018, born out of the dream of its co-founder, Regina Simmons, a Mexico City native who always envisioned owning her own restaurant. “I always wanted to open my own restaurant,” Regina says. “My family in Mexico have restaurants so naturally when I moved to the States, I just leaned towards working in restaurants.”

Coming from a family with deep roots in the food industry, Regina worked her way up in restaurants, doing everything from hosting to bartending to helping open new locations. Along the way, she learned the ins and outs of building a restaurant from the ground up, such as architecture, permitting, systems, and eventually realized she could do it for herself.

This all began after a trip to Mexico City with her business partner, who happened to be vegan. Regina curated an itinerary to make sure he and his wife could enjoy the city’s food scene, only to realize how rich and satisfying plant-based Mexican cuisine could be. “It opened my eyes to how wonderful and easy it is to eat plant-based,” Regina says.

That trip sparked the vision: take the traditional taco shop she always wanted to open and reimagine it through a vegan lens, using family recipes as the foundation.

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Changing Perceptions of Veganism

From the start, the goal was simple, to serve good Mexican food. “We didn’t want to be labeled as ‘just vegan,’” Regina explains. “We always said, we’re serving good Mexican food. If you have a good salsa, good beans, good rice, and a good base, you have a great meal. And people appreciate the Mexican flavors.”

“I want to stay very true to tradition and our recipes, but also I wanted to make sure that if we were going to do this vegan thing, that it was going to be good. I always tell people I am so Mexican, I would never, ever serve something that I wouldn't eat.”

Focusing on emphasizing good Mexican food, was a strategy that worked. About 70% of Tacotarian’s customers aren’t vegan at all. They come back because the food is delicious.

The team loves moments when customers realize they’ve been eating vegan food without noticing. “I had this customer say she couldn’t eat at Tacotarian because she wasn’t vegan. I said ma’am do you like guacamole? Do you like margaritas? You’re vegan,” Regina says. The humor, paired with authentic flavors, breaks down barriers and opens minds.

Building Through Challenges

The journey hasn’t been without obstacles. The first location thrived thanks to word-of-mouth buzz and social media teasers. But when the second store opened, COVID hit just two months later. Like many restaurants, Tacotarian had to pivot, offering to-go margaritas, meal kits, cooking videos, and creative community engagement.

Community has become one of the brand’s strongest pillars. Tacotarian donates monthly to local charities, partners with schools and nonprofits, and remains deeply involved with the Latino community. From volunteering at the Mexican Consulate to supporting food distribution programs with free vegan tacos, the restaurant has positioned itself as more than a business, it’s a cultural hub.

Growing With Intention

Regina is part of a solid team of four co-founders that have built Tacotarian to what it is today. Regina is the expert on building kitchen layouts, creating systems and processes. Co-founder Dan Simmons is the go-to finance expert. Kristen Corral is the restaurant marketing expert, and Carlos Corral is front-of house and restaurant expert.

“That really helps us because every person is just focused in one area,” Regina says. “We just get very good at what we're doing, and then we just focus.”

Expansion has been steady with one location a year, which has been deliberate. The San Diego location, their first outside of Vegas, proved the hardest, requiring a strong local team to carry Tacotarian’s culture.

Recently, the brand became the first fast-food vegan option on the Las Vegas Strip, opening inside Planet Hollywood. A milestone as the first women-owned, Latin owned vegan restaurant on the Las Vegas Strip.

And now, with their franchising process complete, they’re preparing to carefully select partners to expand further.

“Since the beginning we talked as a team and decided this is not going to be about money,” Regina explains. “It's about understanding that this brand can expand, can go everywhere and can make a difference in the world. People will love it but it's also representation of us, so we are being very selective in who we pick to grow with us.”

Expanding into DTC and Retail

Tacotarian is expanding to online and to grocery stores through its direct to consumer retail line of taco filling ranging from Birria to Barbacoa. Expanding into the world of ecommerce and DTC has been something Regina and her team are looking forward to growing.

Right now those products are in about 30 stores, with the hopes of trying to get to one major grocery store, so it’s more accessible to more consumers.

The Bigger Picture

The road ahead isn’t without uncertainty, especially in the food industry. Rising costs and economic pressures are squeezing restaurants nationwide. For Tacotarian, survival requires creativity, resilience, and an even stronger focus on community.

“It feels like COVID times. It's like a tricky time where we have to get creative, be more out in community, and then just stay strong. Besides just our growth, it's survival. I think that's what a lot of businesses are doing right now,” Regina says.

Until then, Tacotarian continues to redefine Mexican food, one taco at a time, proving that vegan or not, good food is good food.

Be sure to give Tacotarian a follow on Instagram, and check them out online. 🌮 If you’re near one of their locations, be sure to stop by. Even give the giant taco a try, like Bryan Cranston.

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New Series Coming Next Week 🔜

Stay tuned for insights to make your business better. Starting next week, we're launching a 4-week series featuring 4 top Shopify app partners who will share insights and strategies to help you maximize Q4. From boosting revenue and acquiring new customers to building lasting brand loyalty.

Can’t thank enough everyone who reads this newsletter and engages with our content! 🥲 We’re entering month 3 of launching Latino Owned, and it has become such an incredible thing to meet and connect with so many business owners and folks interested in this new venture of sharing Latino and Latina voices.

Can’t wait to continue to share more stories, and truly make this a community. 🔥