For the past 20 years, David Pantoja had been dreaming about bringing tacos to a place where there isn’t a taco stand on every corner. One pop-up and catering event at a time, he has done just that, developing a cult-like following in Manhattan, with residents drooling over his street tacos, tamales, and elotes.
Pantoja is no stranger to making popular Mexican dishes. When Pantoja’s large family gathered for meals, he would find himself working the grill with his dad or spending time in the kitchen with his mom. Together, they would cook recipes passed down and tweaked through the generations, from tacos to rice and beans, elotes to tamales. It’s a family affair.
After Panotja and his wife, Angela, got married in 2005, they settled in Joliet. His love of making good food was reserved for family cookouts, as he worked a solid job as a concrete union laborer – a career path many in his family had taken.
In Joliet, taco stands are everywhere, with the east side especially having a large selection. But Pantoja knew someday he wanted to bring tacos to a place where it “wasn’t the norm,” to share his love of tacos with a new audience.
Together, he and Angela raised their kids, and over the years, the dream never waned; instead, it only grew stronger until it could no longer be ignored. Angela encouraged him to pursue his dream and, when an opportunity arose in 2021, he jumped on it.
David and Angela Pantoja make taco dreams come true. –Photo by Stephanie Irvine.
“A friend of mine called me and was like, do you know a taco man?” Pantoja said of his first event. He joked that he was a taco man and offered to cater that friend’s graduation party. His friend accepted the offer, and the Pantojas nailed it.
He and his wife catered another event for someone, who attended that first party. It’s only grown from there.
“Everybody’s like, how original, The Taco Man, but people would call me up and want to know if I knew a taco man. That’s the first thing people ask for is a taco man, so that’s how I named my business,” Pantoja said.
In addition to catering, he also has hosted several pop-up events in Manhattan.
They didn’t just pick Manhattan because there aren’t any taco stands, though. Angela grew up in Manhattan, part of a generational Manhattan family that includes several pillars of the community, like her late grandfather, the legendary former mayor and fire chief Jack Fitzgerald.
Family heritage like that in a small town doesn’t go away and, so, their presence in Manhattan is consistent and regular.
The Taco Man sold out at all of his past events at Gallagher’s Pub on Sundays during football season and also appears at special events in town, like Posh West Boutique’s first anniversary on July 12.
If people find out he’s popping up, they race to get in line before he sells out. No Facebook catering inquiry is complete without several people tagging The Taco Man’s Facebook page, praising his food and service. If you’re talkin’ about tacos, you’re talking about The Taco Man.
Pantoja favors simplicity, and it’s a recipe that seems to work well.
“It’s a small menu, but someone once told me, you keep it small, and it’s all delicious. If you have 100 things on your menu, maybe only three things are good,” Pantoja explained.
At pop-up events, he serves his street tacos with onion, cilantro, and a lime wedge. It’s simple, delicious, and classic. For catering events, it’s a different story. He’ll bring pretty much whatever people want.
“If I printed a menu, you’d think that’s all I do. So, I see what they’re looking for and what they’re expecting, so we try to customize it off what they want. I have a hard time saying no to people,” Pantoja joked, noting they do everything from homemade salsa and fajitas to surf and turf (shrimp and steak) tacos.
Although Pantoja is The Taco Man, he doesn’t do it alone. His sister-in-law makes the rice, a recipe he says is perfection. His daughter, Aaliyah, makes the elote cups, and his son, David, a union pipefitter, helped him build his trailer.
The trailer has its own story. He had told friend Jim Schuld, on a construction job working overnights, that he was putting his house up for sale to follow his dream and buy a food truck. Pantoja said Schuld told him not to sell his house, and they would build a trailer together once he retired.
Schuld followed through with his word, and Pantoja and his son would head over to Schuld’s and build the trailer together, with his son handling all the welding. He said the health department told him it was better than some of the full-size food trucks they’d seen, and he easily obtained his permit.
Pantoja says his wife, Angela, The Taco Lady, plays a huge role in the business, handling all the behind-the-scenes work.
“She does all the setting up, the table, the cilantro, she has her own method of that, how the tables go. I pretty much cook and take the credit,” he said with a chuckle.
Things have been going well, and Pantoja says if he doesn’t get a referral from an event, he’s not doing his job right.
So far, each event has brought him a new customer, and business has only continued to grow. He even sponsors the number five race car with Eddie Wolf Racing, which will be appearing July 14 alongside The Taco Man at a location that has been a fairly consistent pop-up spot – the former Roadhouse 52 parking lot.
While renovations are ongoing in the gutted former restaurant and bar, the new owner, Nick Been, continues to host his sand volleyball league, which he established before purchasing the property. With hungry volleyballers looking for food, Been invited The Taco Man to feed them.
The Taco Man will be out on league nights offering $3 tacos, $3 cheese quesadillas, $8 meat quesadillas, and fajita boats for $13, unless a private event is scheduled. The league runs Mondays and Thursdays throughout the summer, from 5 to 8 p.m., or until they sell out, at the former Roadhouse 52, 525 S. State Street in Manhattan.
As for the future, The Taco Man enjoys catering and pop-ups, but he’s just getting started. The real dream is a brick-and-mortar location. Pantoja said he’s already had two offers to set up shop in kitchens in bars in nearby communities, but they just weren’t the right fit.
He’s confident the right permanent spot will pop up at the right time, though.
Until then, follow The Taco Man’s Facebook page for pop-up locations or call 779-205-8486 to book a catering event and, of course, stop by to “support your local taco dealer.”
Stephanie Irvine is a freelance reporter.