A taco stand or taqueria is a food cart, truck, or restaurant specializing in tacos and other Mexican dishes.

Various ingredients may be used, and different taco styles may be served. Taco stands are an integral part of Mexican street food.

A taco is a traditional Mexican dish consisting of a corn or wheat tortilla folded or rolled around a filling. A taco can be made with a variety of fillings, including beef, pork, chicken, seafood, vegetables, and cheese, allowing great versatility and variety.

It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when the taco was invented, but the taco truck has grown from humble origins to inspire an entire mobile food revolution.

The person credited with opening the first taco truck is a man named Raul Martinez. In 1974 Martinez converted an old ice cream truck into a mobile taco-making station and parked it outside of a Los Angeles bar. His idea was a huge success, and after only six months of working out of his truck, he was able to open a restaurant, King Taco, which he later turned into a multi-million-dollar chain.

On the heels of his success, taco trucks became a familiar sight in California and the southwestern U.S. It didn’t take long for other food businesses to catch on to this strategy, and in the early 2000s, the food truck trend became a national (now international) phenomenon.

There are over three million mobile food vendors operating in locations across the U.S. today, with cuisine ranging from tacos to a truck that serves Irish-Eritrean fusion and everything in between.

The taco truck has grown from humble origins to inspire an entire mobile food revolution.