By james art A local Mexican food truck now has its own restaurant.
Chef Jesus Santiago and his wife Norma opened Cilantro & Tacos Mexican Street Cuisine at 2235 Old Salisbury Road on October 17th.
Norma and Jesus Santiago, co-owners of Cilantro & Tacos Mexican Street Cuisine, pose for a portrait.
Alison Lee Isley, Journalist
They have been operating the Cilantro & Tacos truck since September 2021.
For a long time, they had a regular spot in the Brewster Crossing Shopping Center parking lot near Gabe’s on Peters Creeks Parkway. They were told last November they had to move to make way for a gas station to be built on the lot, Santiago said.
But that turned out to be a good thing, because they were already looking for a physical location and had just found the spot on Old Salisbury Road — in a small strip mall that holds Marco’s Pizza and a Dollar General.
The exterior of Cilantro & Tacos Mexican Street Cuisine.
Alison Lee Easley
“There was a barbershop. I live here and this was my barber. We used to always talk about work,” Santiago said.
So when the barbershop owner told Santiago he was closing, he asked for the landlord’s number.
As soon as they got a lease on the place, they moved the truck into the parking lot there and kept the truck running while they built a kitchen and renovated the space.
Jesus Santiago (left), co-owner of Cilantro & Tacos Mexican Street Cuisine, prepares a bowl of carne asada fajitas while Charlie Martinez chops peppers.
Alison Lee Easley
“That was the whole plan from the beginning,” Santiago said the other day as he prepared to open the restaurant.
Cilantros & Tacos seats 28 inside, plus 10 outside under umbrella-covered tables. It serves lunch and dinner six days a week.
The interior features a combination of tables and stools at the window counter. The restaurant offers counter service, using pagers to alert customers when orders are ready. The restaurant will continue to deliver takeout and DoorDash.
A carne asada fajita bowl at Cilantro & Tacos Mexican Street Cuisine.
Alison Lee Easley
Cilantro & Tacos will continue to offer its street tacos, taco biriya, quesadillas and other popular items from the truck. But it’s also expanding its menu. “We’re going to have more bowls — not just our burrito bowl, but the fajita bowl and the Baja shrimp bowl,” he said. “We’ll also be doing different types of tacos.”
Bowls cost $10.99 to $12.99. An order of tacos costs $12.99. Street tacos come in orders of four; new Baja shrimp and fajita tacos come three to an order. For street tacos, customers can choose from steak, chicken, al pastor (pork), chorizo, lengua, brisket and shrimp.
That meat choice also applies to the restaurant’s tortas ($12.99), though Santiago has added a new torta Cubana to the menu with beef, sliced ham, chorizo, carne asada, cheese, beans and more for $15.99.
It also plans to offer regular promotions. “We’ll have tamales, different types of soup. We want to change it maybe every week so that every time you come in the menu is not the same,” he said. “We’re going to play with the food.”
One new thing is a deep fryer, which he didn’t have in the truck. “Now we can make our own chips. We will also be making sopas and churros.”
He hopes to get ABC permits soon so he can serve alcohol. “It won’t be a full bar, but we’ll have beer and margaritas,” he said.
Jesus Santiago, co-owner of Cilantro & Tacos Mexican Street Cuisine, prepares a carne asada fajita bowl.
Alison Lee Easley