What to expect
“We will offer the same menu that we offer here in Yellow Springs at the new location at Arise,” Espinoza said. “We will be open for lunch Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. We may have breakfast in the future.”
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
Customers can expect tacos, bowls, burritos, nachos and quesadillas with their choice of protein including carne asada, carnitas, chicken tinga, al pastor, chorizo, veggies and fried or grilled grouper.
The restaurant will have taquitos, chips and guacamole, chips and salsa and queso fundido (chorizo and three Mexican cheeses). There will be specials throughout the week.
Miguel’s also serves handcrafted herbal teas from CommuniTea Love based in Yellow Springs.
Decades of restaurant experience
Espinoza, who is originally from Mexico City, Mexico, moved to the United States for a better life at 16 years old.
“My father was a chef in New York and I worked with him for a couple of years and I guess he passed that to me,” Espinoza said. “I just love to cook and feed people.”
He worked in a variety of restaurants for 13 years in New York, before moving to Florida where he worked at a sushi restaurant for almost 10 years.
Eric Mawby, the owner of the sushi restaurant, teamed up with Espinoza to open a Mexican restaurant because he liked the food Espinoza would cook for the restaurant’s “family meal.” They opened two restaurants together and eventually sold them.
Espinoza moved to Yellow Springs in 2017 because that’s where the mother of his children grew up. He opened the original food truck in the Kings Yard behind Asanda Imports at 230 Xenia Ave.
“I wanted to open something. There was nothing available location (wise), so I bought a small, little trailer and started doing tacos.”
In 2020, Miguel’s Tacos started serving food out of the kitchen at Trail Town Brewing. He did that for about four years, before returning to the Kings Yard with a bigger food truck.
Miguel’s Tacos recently added an indoor dining area with a restroom near the food truck. That space was once the kitchen of Winds Cafe.
“We have very good reviews online and people really like what we do,” Espinoza said. “We keep it really simple, so business is growing. Now, we’re here.”
Giving back and helping others
“We are excited to announce this partnership,” said Kip Morris, co-founder of Emerge and Five Star Home Services. “Miguel serves a really high-quality level of food. We are super excited to bring that into the Emerge ecosystem and get the guys there involved as well.”
Residents completing programming at Emerge Recovery & Trade Initiative who are interested in vocational training in the culinary arts will eventually have the opportunity to work and train at Miguel’s.
“I look forward to helping the men there, training them and making them cooks and chefs,” Espinoza said. “This is going to be a great opportunity for everyone.”
In the future, Espinoza hopes to franchise Miguel’s Tacos.
For more information, visit thearisecafe.com or Miguel’s Tacos Facebook page (@miguelstaco).
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