Talkin’ Tacos’ cofounder on the keys to this South Florida chain’s rapid growth

Take-Away with Sam Oches

Nation's Restaurant News

Business, Entrepreneurship

2.5 • 15 Ratings

🗓️ 8 April 2025

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Mohammad Faraj, cofounder and chief marketing officer for Talkin’ Tacos, a fast-casual taco joint out of South Florida that has grown to 22 locations in less than five years in operation. Mohammad and his childhood friend Omar Al-Massalkhi opened Talkin’ Tacos as a food truck in the early days of the pandemic, one of the first concepts to bring birria tacos to the east coast. That menu focus plus an early pivot to halal meat helped catapult Talkin’ Tacos to massive success and a quick shift into brick-and-mortar operations. Mohammad joined the podcast to talk about the keys to Talkin’ Tacos’ rapid growth and the role that social media has played in introducing the brand to new markets.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

A small brand change can make a big difference in business
One influencer can catapult your concept
Emerging chains must start from scratch in every market they grow into
Efficient operations allow fast casuals to have casual-quality food without casual prices
Quality plus efficiency equals coveted profitability

Have feedback or ideas for Take-Away? Email Sam at [email protected].

Transcript

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0:00.0	Introducing Signature, a CEO series with Sam Ocas.
0:03.7	Signature is a new series from Nation's Restaurant News, empowered by the Coca-Cola Company
0:08.1	that shines a spotlight on restaurant CEOs to better understand their careers, experiences, core values, and their visions for the future.
0:16.8	Check out our inaugural signature featuring Wendy CEO Kirk Tanner at www. nrn.com slash signature.
0:25.6	Hey there, welcome to Takeaway with Sam Ocas, a podcast from Nation's Restaurant News.
0:30.5	My name is Sam Ocas.
0:31.5	I'm the editor-in-chief here at NRN, and this is the show where I give you an all-access pass
0:36.0	to the restaurant industry's most
0:37.5	influential decision makers. This week, I'm talking with Mohamed Farage, the co-founder and
0:42.9	chief marketing officer for Tocan Tacos, a fast casual taco joint out of South Florida that has
0:49.1	grown to 22 locations in less than five years in operation. Mohammed and his childhood friend Omar al-Masaki opened Taka-N-Tacos as a food truck in the early
0:59.5	days of the pandemic, one of the first concepts to bring Beria tacos to the East Coast.
1:04.9	That menu focus, plus an early pivot to halal meat, helped catapult talking tacos to massive success and a quick shift
1:13.1	into brick and mortar operations.
1:15.4	Mohamed joined the podcast to talk about the keys to talking tacos rapid growth and the
1:20.1	role that social media has played in introducing the brand to new markets.
1:24.1	In this interview, you will learn more about why a small brand change can make a big
1:28.8	difference in business, why emerging chains must start from scratch in every market they grow into,
1:34.2	and why quality plus efficiency equals coveted profitability. By the way, I am excited to share a
1:40.8	new way that you can access Takeaway and other goodies.
1:44.5	TikTok.
1:45.1	That's right.
	...

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