Thanks to all of you, Cinco was a huge success! We sold 25,975 crisp tacos between all locations! Thank you so much to everyone who came out and celebrated with us this year! We know how fun Cinco is, which is why today we’re giving you the inside scoop on how we pull it off! Two weeks of prep, plans, and panic build up to the Cinco Fiesta, and every second is so worth it. We talked to some of our Taco Time employees and followed along with the scheming so we can share that story with you today.
To start prep, there must first be a plan. Pat Rogers, our VP of Quick Serve Restaurants, alongside his team of Taco Time managers, create a Cinco De Mayo Action Plan about a month in advance. This is crucial for everything to come together because each restaurant has to have an exponentially larger amount of food than any other day of the year. There are a lot of factors to consider so we don’t end up with too much or too little. This plan compares previous years to help come up with the current projections, as well as considering performance differences between the 3 Taco Time locations. Shells to fry, how much of each ingredient we’re going to need, down to making sure there will be enough bags, napkins, and sauces. We also have to plan for things like how many shirts we need to make, what signs need to be replaced, and parking lot planning. Planning for the parking lot is essential, factors like where the lanes are going to be, how they plan on directing the flow of traffic, and where the lot attendants will have to be.
The first food prep we had the opportunity to go see was the taco shells! We headed over to our warehouse to chat with Desi about this portion of prep. Desi has worked at Lewiston Taco Time since 2002, this is her 22nd Cinco De Mayo! When we asked about this interview, everyone turned us in her direction, and it was very evident why. She was in the kitchen frying up shells when we got there, and as we talked, she continued her process efficiently while looking at us. 8 corn tortillas perfectly sandwiched into each of the 4 baskets, her arms moving faster than our eyes could keep up. With the goal of 30,000 tacos this year, Desi and her team never slowed down!
Working on and off in 4 shifts, it truly is hard work. Desi, James, Kristal, Penny, and Morgan each came to fry taco shells for 2-4 hours every day for a week. The process starts with soft corn tortillas that come in boxes of 200. Each tortilla is hand separated, put into the basket, and submerged into the oil. As soon as they go in, the other baskets start to come up, revealing those perfectly crispy taco shells we all know and love! The employees strive to get 2 boxes done per hour to reach their goal of making 30,000 taco shells for Cinco. Desi reminisced on when the shells were being made in the store kitchens, and then the few years they used the Clarkston Event Center, and how nice it is now to be able to use the warehouse. The warehouse kitchen works so well for them largely due to the large amount of space and lack of distractions.
Of course, prep goes beyond making shells. The shells are made in the warehouse by volunteer employees and are split between all 3 stores, but everything else is done in each store separately. The day before Cinco, each Taco Time location shreds about 300 pounds of cheese, and on the day of, they each prep and cook about 750 pounds of beef throughout the day. The seasonings needed and proper amount of water are premixed and poured in as they cook because on Cinco, time really is of the essence. On a normal day, 30-50 pounds of beef are cooked throughout the day, but on a day like this, that could never be enough.
Due to the sheer volume of tacos and people in the buildings, managers must stay on top of taking care of their employees. To do so, they bring in cases of Red Bull, water, and Gatorade, along with snacks and pizza! Cinco De Mayo truly is a day for the people, our teams and everyone in our community. No matter how much work needs to be put in for this day to work, we will continue to do it every year. Which is why we want to take a moment to give a HUGE thank you to all of our employees! Hot, crowded kitchens, road rage in the parking lots, and an unbelievable amount of tacos are always expected, but every one of our teams stepped up and showed out. Cinco wouldn’t be possible without all of you and your commitment to excellency. To close out, we asked Pat Rogers if he had any special stories from the chaos this year. His response was fast and clear, “the special story is our employees” and we couldn’t agree more.
With all the Cinco chaos coming to a close, there’s just one last thing to say: see you next year!
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