Pinche Tacos
Kevin Morrison arrived in Colorado in 1994, bouncing around the local food scene until he eventually rolled out a taco wagon — Pinche Tacos — two years ago. The mobile operation was so popular that he soon followed it up with a brick-and-mortar called Pinche Taqueria, which he opened three months ago just off East Colfax and York.But the wagon and the taqueria were by no means Morrison’s first business ventures. Years ago, he launched the Red Tomato, a specialty produce company that supplied many local restaurants. Four years after he launched the Red Tomato, he opened the city’s first Spicy Pickle location on Tenth and Lincoln. It was 1999, and his partner was a former chef from Barolo Grill. “I was at the produce shop from 4 a.m. till 10 a.m., then at the Spicy Pickle from 10:30 a.m. till 9 p.m.,” Morrison says of the schedule he maintained for nearly a year. Realizing he couldn’t keep up the pace, he sold the Red Tomato.
The Spicy Pickle took off, and in less than three years, two more locations opened; by the time the fourth one was up and running, the Spicy Pickle began franchising. “It was great. We worked ten months every year and had two months to ourselves,” says Morrison. But by 2007, after the Spicy Pickle had gone public, Morrison had little control over the company, not to mention a bitter taste in his mouth after watching his brainchild business, a comfortable sandwich shop, turn into a repetitive, mechanical operation that lost its founding values.
Morrison was ready for a change — and a food truck. He pitched the idea to the Spicy Pickle brass and was quickly turned down. On Christmas Eve, 2009, Morrison parted ways with his sandwich business.
By February of 2010, he knew he had the taco truck concept nailed but the process was slow, particularly for a man who had been moving fast. Morrison says he felt like “Mr. Mom with no kids.” But the days were also spiced with adventures, including a solo road trip to Mississippi in a Ford F-150 to purchase the trailer. The real adventure was on the return trip to Colorado, when he had to turn around when the six-burner grill came loose and was damaged. But he made it back to Denver, and by May, the trailer was finally on the streets.
The concept was fresh, the Denver street food scene was still in its infancy and Pinche Tacos became an instant favorite. Morrison was selling his tacos at markets and at special events, often selling out. And late last year, when he opened his brick-and-mortar that, he says,“chose him,” locals jumped at the opportunity to enjoy their favorite tacos indoors, along with a beer or a cocktail. But the taco wagon, he promises, will be back on the streets just as soon as the weather warms up.