Tiki Taco brings communal spirit to its second location on Troost Ave.

Tiki Taco’s patio space. Courtesy of Tiki Taco.

If you’ve ever been to Hi-Dive on 39th Street for a mystery beer, perhaps you’ve also intuited your way across the street to Tiki Taco. For the buzzed and non-committal amongst us, Tiki Taco delivers affordable, Mex-Cali tacos and burritos street-side. 

This walk-up window allowed the business to flourish when brothers Lyndon and Lindsey Wade and their mother, Judy Rush, bought Tiki Taco at the peak of the pandemic. Like many street-side extensions that popped up to keep restaurants afloat amidst social distancing mandates, the window is part of Tiki Taco’s charm. It offers the temporary illusion of a big city. 

The outdoor component lives on in Tiki Taco’s second location on 5400 Troost Avenue. A patio embellished with glowing light bulbs, massive round tables, and vibrant fiber-glass umbrellas that catch eyes from blocks away will buffer the former filling station from the hustle and bustle of Troost.

Inside, red, orange, and yellow tiles under glowing neon lights reinvigorate the 91 year old structure. “The tile glistens,” says Lyndon Wade. Wade heads Tiki Taco’s aesthetics, and you may already know his affinity for tile from Crossroad’s Guild and Paradise Garden Club, both of which he owns. He comes from the advertising and film world, and is a visionary, no doubt. 

Wade’s beloved tile. Courtesy of Tiki Taco.

“Everybody has their own asset”, says Jason Kinslow (J-Dog), in reference to the team the Wades have curated. Kinslow helped open a plethora of restaurants in Kansas City, including Gram & Dun, in his almost three decade-long restaurant stint. He advocated for Tiki Taco to remain closed on Sundays…because no one wants to work on Sunday.

His partner, Meredith Schulte, heads communication. 

“They’re a thing,” Wade announces, pointing at Schulte and Kinslow.

“Yes, common law marriage,” Schulte retorts. 

And then there’s Rich Wiles, self-proclaimed cynicist of the group. Wiles is the former owner of Westport Cafe and a few food trucks, and his culinary experience is demonstrated in Tiki Taco’s complex flavors. 

“Interestingly enough, our food truck–Westport Street Fare–is where we’ve drawn a lot of inspiration from. We’d do Korean short rib tacos, and incorporate ingredients from the cafe–like chicken confit–into the food we sold,” says Wiles. 

This spirit of fusion manifests in Tiki Taco’s current and anticipated menu. Some taco highlights include the infamous Korean short rib & Thai fried chicken, and Wiles, Kinslow, and the Wades collaborate on a specialty burrito every month. The current flavor? Nashville fried chicken. 

Unlike Tiki Taco’s retro back-of-the-house style bar on 39th Street, Troost’s bar is front and center, complete with two TVs for Chiefs viewings. Offerings include Caribbean-inspired cocktails, a house-brewed “Modelo-Victoria hybrid” Mexican lager, and a $10 house margarita with Grand Marnier, Cuatro, and fresh-squeezed mandarin that’s probably $14-$16 elsewhere. 

Their price point is inclusive–inclusivity is a concept that the Tiki Taco team keeps circling back to.

“We want to be a part of this community. There’s this hard line on Troost, and we want to bridge that gap,” says Wade. 

“This is a very dynamic neighborhood. Our staff is extremely diverse—they’re students, they’re locals, they’re from outside the neighborhood,” Kinslow echoes. 

The team is in collaboration with various local businesses. They have an ice cream taco (the Tiki Choco) with High Hopes Ice Cream, which resides just down the street from their Troost location. They also have a Mexican lager with the River Market’s Strange Daze, and they’ve partnered with Yoli Tortilleria for, you guessed it, their tortilla. 

“If there’s a long-term goal, it’s that we’re not always taking, but we’re also giving back,” says Wade. “Also, we’re just trying to have fun. People put their heads down and focus on what they’re doing. We could just purchase Modelo, but isn’t it more fun to make it ourselves? Because then we get to develop a relationship with a brewery and collaborate on flavors.”

“I’ve been advertising for all kinds of brands for decades, and no one is super sad eating a taco or drinking a margarita,” says Wade. “It’s fun.” Courtesy of Tiki Taco.

Tiki Taco’s collaborative efforts extend into KC skate culture, a historic emblem of inclusivity (and perhaps a tinge of non-conformity).  They’ve been sponsoring monthly deck giveaways though Crossroad’s Escapist Skateboarding at their 39th location. The team also has tentative plans to start a Tiki Taco running club, and they discuss sponsoring local sports teams as an effort to cultivate vibrant culture in the area. 

Public reception of Tiki Taco’s Troost location is just as optimistic.

“There’s a lot of drive-by traffic and people in the neighborhood commenting on our social media. Watching a building come back to life after so many years is exciting to people,” says Schulte.

Tiki Taco will open its doors on Monday, Oct. 17.

“Have you ever thrown a party?” Wade asks. “You tell everyone to show up at 8. It’s 7:30. Crickets. It’s 8. Crickets. You’re like, ‘no one is going to show up.’  It’s 9:30. Fuck, there are too many people here… that’s what we want our opening to be like.”

Tiki Taco is open Monday through Thursday from 11am to 10pm and Friday and Saturday from 11am to midnight. 

Tiki Taco, 5400 Troost Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri, tikitaco.com.