When Miguel Hernandez and Damian Otero, owners of Rreal Tacos in Atlanta, Georgia, first opened their new restaurant concept in the heart of the city, they had one thing in mind: To bring the quality and authenticity of Mexican street food to a dine-in, full-service environment and pair it with the best margaritas in the city.
With three locations and a fourth opening soon, both Hernandez and Otero are working diligently to bring an “authentic taqueria feel with modern vibes” to an urban locale that has a very diverse Mexican food scene.
“All of our locations are second-generation restaurants that have been outfitted to meet the needs of our concept, so no two restaurants are alike,” Hernandez says. “We’ve remodeled each restaurant ourselves, and this allowed us to add unique traits to each location so that when you walk in, you know you are at Rreal Tacos. The music hits just right, there are hundreds of bottles of tequila hovering over the bar, and the smells of fresh meat hitting the grill permeate throughout the entire restaurant.”
Serving Up Street Food
The venue’s birria barbacoa taco is the star of the show, and they use fresh, never frozen meat that is marinated for 12 to 24 hours, then cooked in small batches daily.
“When a specific type of food is made by someone who grew up eating the same thing their entire lives, you know they are experts,” Hernandez says. “Our chefs grew up eating tacos, so they know what a taco should look like and taste like. There is nothing more authentic than a chef who can whip up something that comes from a part of the world they grew up in.”
As Hernandez further explains, street food isn't designed to look pretty, it's made to taste good. Fine dining has a specific target audience that emphasizes the art of making food look beautiful.
“On the contrary, there are people who also appreciate tasting something amazing, no matter what it looks like. Food can look beautiful and taste good, but it's a tough balancing act that can sometimes only be mastered through years of formal culinary training,” Hernandez says. “A lot of great street food comes from the hands of people who may not be formally trained in the culinary arts but have innovative recipes and cooking methods. Street food has no borders, it can be anything you want it to be, it just has to taste good.”
Tequila is Trending
Tequila and agave spirits are also trending and Rreal Tacos offers some of the best margaritas in Atlanta. As Hernandez explains, Mexico is the birthplace of tequila and mezcal. The fact that the U.S. shares a border with Mexico allows people to travel into this region of the world and explore what Mexico has to offer.
“This is where many people first get their taste of good tequila,” Hernandez explains. “Ten years ago, you would see maybe one or two bottles of tequila at any given bar or nightclub. Tequila is everywhere now. Celebrities are endorsing their own lines of tequila. You hear specific brands of tequila in the lyrics of songs. Mainstream culture embraced tequila, and everyone wants it now. In every one of our restaurants, we’ve built a tequila wall to store our bottles of tequila and display our vast collection. You can't make a margarita without tequila, so our cocktail menu is very simple. We only have margaritas. It's our specialty.”
The guys running Rreal Tacos’ beverage program are definitely on another level. They are self-described tequila and mezcal experts, but it shows in the quality of the drinks. Their goal is to make the best margaritas in town and they take pride in saying all Rreal Tacos’ margaritas have fresh squeezed lime juice, which is never more than a few hours old from the moment the limes were squeezed. This process is labor intensive, but the end product is worth it.
Restaurant Marketing Know-How
Hernandez and Otero pride themselves on having created a restaurant concept that offers a very unique vibe – one that exudes being a “cool place to sit down and have a nice business lunch or kick back and have dinner with a group of friends.”
Their music playlist is carefully curated to keep up with whatever is trending; their social media accounts are vibrant and engaging, and they drop content and post every day.
“Marketing in 2022 is very different than it was ten years ago. No one watches cable anymore, and billboards are disappearing. Companies that pop up on someone's phone are going to grab market share, no matter the industry,” Hernandez says. “This is why we created our in-house marketing team to make great and relevant content.”
Eventually, this marketing team evolved into a full-blown restaurant marketing company called Resto Experience, based in Atlanta. They currently have ten full-time graphic designers, content creators, community managers, photographers and videographers, and are adding more positions. As of now, they are helping dozens of restaurants run and operate their social media accounts, manage their websites, and stay up-to-date with the best technology integrations that help restaurant owners with their bottom line.
Marketing expertise aside, opening any new restaurant concept comes with its share of challenges, and Rreal Tacos is no exception. “Our only big challenge is trying to keep up with the demand of our customers," Hernandez says. "In 2021, we only had one location. In 2022, we will end the year with three fully operational locations, with another starting construction towards the end of the year and set to open early 2023. It's a blessing and a challenge at the same time. It takes a lot of effort to run and operate multiple restaurants while looking for other markets to expand.”
Talking Tech
Many restaurants are behind the curve when it comes to integrating technology, or not willing to invest in the best technology available. Hernandez sees many restaurants using outdated point-of-sale systems, having inactive social media accounts, and lacking interest in investing in their brand on apps like Instagram and TikTok.
“In ten years, if you do not take advantage of every piece of new restaurant technology available or hop on a trending social media app to promote your business, you probably won't be in business for very long,” Hernandez says. “We saw the importance of staying ahead of the curve, and one example is the way to view a menu.”
Most restaurants give you a piece of paper with words and descriptions or a QR code that shows a PDF of the same piece of paper with words and descriptions. This is something that hasn't changed in ages in the restaurant business.
But with the help of the talented programmers at Resto Experience, Rreal Tacos has built their website from scratch and created a different style of menu. While the menu has words and descriptions, it also has vibrant pictures.
“We ensure that when customers order a margarita, taco, quesadilla, or pretty much anything, it looks exactly like it does on the menu. In order to optimize the menu and make it mobile-friendly, it resembles a social media feed, just like when browsing through Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, or any app,” Hernandez explains. “Scrolling through a touchscreen phone is a habit we’ve all adapted to. Rreal Tacos diners scan a QR code and scroll through the starters, tacos, margaritas, and select what they’d like as they’re scrolling. Having pictures on the menu looks good, but there’s also functionality behind this approach. We see common problems like food waste, server errors, and items getting sent back cut in half just by providing a picture of everything on the menu. Less errors means less loss, and less loss equates to more profit.”
Fourteen months ago, Rreal Tacos was a one location operation with a few employees. Today they are at three locations and boast a crew of 100+ talented individuals.
“We are set to start construction on our fourth location by the end of the year and open early 2023,” Hernandez says. “Our mission for 2023 is to end the fiscal year with eight locations throughout metro Atlanta. We then plan to expand to Nashville and Charlotte by 2024, and Miami, Tampa, and Orlando in 2025.”
Maura Keller is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She is a writer, editor, and published book author with more than 20 years of experience. She has written about business, design, marketing, the bar & restaurant industry, and a wealth of other topics for dozens of regional and national publications.
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