Serial entrepreneur Kit Gabriel Lavilla had been nursing the idea of venturing into the food business even before the pandemic struck. That business venture pulled him back into the entrepreneurial world after two decades of being away from home.
He fondly calls this new venture his “pandemic baby”, an idea hatched and bred during the worst of times, and offered a means to ride the crisis by turning a disaster into an opportunity, particularly for his crew and suppliers.
“We came up with the idea in 2020 but made a go to have our very own first trailer in early 2021. While we were waiting for the food truck to be ready, we were trying one food concept after another. Thanks to our chef, who is a friend of a friend. He helped us perfected the taste and recipes we have conceptualized,” Lavilla said.
“My dilemma before fleshing out the concept is how to offer generous portions at a price not hurtful on the pocket, something the entire family will enjoy but within one’s budget,” he added.
Tacolicious Food Truck is a Mexican-inspired fusion quick-served mobile restaurant, affordably sumptuous at exactly the right portion and on-point pricing.
There has been a few food trailer concepts in the Philippines but Tacolicious Food Truck has been the most consistent yet, trailing its way to select events, often times during birthdays and weddings and even at bazaars. This is when Tacolicous started winning the hearts… and tummies of upland diners.
Lavilla said all his concepts – from mobile dining to Mexican fusion theme —are all reminiscent of his stint in the US. From where he lived and worked, Mexican food trucks were as ubiquitous as McDonald’s QSR.
Starting off as a cloud kitchen, the business initially thrived through the support of relatives, friends and the immediate community along the by-pass highway in Tubuan II Silang, Cavite where the trailer is stationed.
Traditional Mexican fares such tacos, burritos, chicken wings and quesadilla were the first few offerings served by the trailer. Lavilla experimented on having several variants of tacos and burritos, as well as a few more variants of the chicken wings.
Party fave tacos come in 7 variants – chicken, carnitas or pulled pork, fish, shrimp, steak, veggie and the latest addition is the birya. Burritos, on the other hand, is served as a vegetarian roll, carnitas, chicken and steak roll.
Before Tacolicious, Lavilla delved on some real estate ventures after returning home to the Philippines from living in the US for 20 years.
In his younger years, he also managed a family business of manufacturing and supplying socks as a sub-contractor for an exporting firm based in a special economic zone in Rosario, Cavite.
Lavilla hailed from a long line of entrepreneurs, thus, manning a business is something he grew up with, and the tack of having a sound business acumen came as a natural trait. The maternal side of his family, the Sandejas, has established a name as one of the business stalwarts in Silang.
He noted it takes more than grit and perseverance to actually venture into food business amidst a crisis.
While food is considered a basic human need, snacks during hard times, take a back seat.
However the challenge was not gaining exposure nor selling the fares. Maintaining an honest, diligent set of crew pushed him to be more wary and discerning of his workers.
“I always tell them it’s a two-way street. We should dance to the same beat. The business provides livelihood for all of us, therefore we need to protect what is nurturing us,” he said, intimating a few instances of dishonesty and mismanagement that almost had the business at a tipping point in the first few months of operations.
Since its inception in 2020, Tacolicous did the rounds of events, parties, weddings, bazaars and even campaign sorties during the recent elections.
One of Tacolicious active patrons is former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The trailer is a regular sight at parties and family events in the Quezon City home of the former president. The former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo is a big fan of Tacolicious Tacos.
As restrictions were lifted, the trailer became more hectic presenting opportunities for double bookings that cannot be met due to lack of resources.
From a virtual kitchen, Lavilla built a brick and mortal counter allowing for curb side take-out and eventually setting up an al fresco dining patch alongside the counter.
Expenses piled as more capital is invested but demand was also on an uphill. In fact, the trailer is booked until first quarter of 2023.
While still far from building a food empire, Lavilla is itching to set the bar higher by branching out to a more populous space where students, hospital and office workers abound presenting new growth opportunities to the food truck start-up.
The delivery of a second van is expected by early 2023. The new van will fill the demand for second bookings.
Tacolicious runs 2 promos weekly – the Taco Tuesday and Wingsday Wednesday – as a token of gratitude to loyal patrons and a way to entice more customers to grab a bite and test the offerings. Lavilla attributed the growing number of loyal customers to his weekly promotions.
“We’re not earning much from these promos but we manage to offset potential loss with more orders. Like for Taco Tuesday, that’s buy 1 get 1, so a customer gets 6 tacos for the price of 3 tacos per order. Wingsday Wednesday is unli-wings or wings-all-you-can. It’s good buy,” he said.
One of his best sellers is the sampler package consisting or burritos, tacos, quesadilla and fries. The sampler comes in two different sizes and a bundle promo that includes beverages.
For customers on carb watch, the burrito bowl offers the same burrito goodness sans the wrap. And for the sweet tooth, the traditional churros is the latest add-on with dip choices of white chocolate, dark chocolate and salted caramel.
For the upcoming year, the food truck will unveil new items to add to the menu. “We keep innovating our offerings so people won’t get tired of Tacolicious. In the pipeline is a really good burger recipe and crispy chicken recipe. We’re still in R&D on these, but we’re optimistic to have these new products onboard by early 2023,” Lavilla said.
