Updated 8/29/2024: I always love it when something good comes out of something gone wrong. In a huge win for Livingston, it’s been discovered that McAlister’s Deli will be taking the place of the not so upscale Taco Bueno.
With a menu like this, it’s all good! https://www.mcalistersdeli.com/menu
Also on it’s way to Livingston is a Tim Horton’s donuts, and Denny’s resturant. Just kidding Dudley, no crappy Canadian donut joint will be allowed here. It’s a Dunkin Donuts going in. Try not to cry in your maple syrup.
Original Article:
Well, folks, let’s all take a moment to mourn the loss of yet another culinary gem in Livingston—Taco Bueno. And by “gem,” I mean the kind of gem you might find in a dollar store clearance bin. Yes, the beacon of cheap eats and questionable meat quality has shut its doors, leaving us all to wonder, “How will we ever fill the void of soggy tacos and bland burritos?”
But let’s not kid ourselves—Taco Bueno’s demise was as inevitable as finding a penny under your couch cushions. The food was priced so low, you’d think they were trying to compete with the loose change in your car’s cup holder. It’s almost like Taco Terry, the brain behind this operation, thought he could build a restaurant empire one 99-cent taco at a time. Now, I’m no business genius, but even I can do the math: when you’re selling tacos for less than the cost of a cup of gas station coffee, it might be a little tough to cover the overhead on a stand-alone building.
And speaking of that stand-alone building—just how many tacos do you have to sell in a day to keep the lights on? A thousand? Ten thousand? It’s no wonder the place folded. The business model seemed to be based on the premise that people would keep coming back for more, despite the fact that the food quality was about as inspiring as a bowl of lukewarm instant ramen.
This is exactly why it’s so hard to have good restaurants around here. The people who try to start them don’t seem to understand the basic principles of business. The major chains, on the other hand, they get it. They know exactly how much they need to make to turn a profit, which is why you don’t see them setting up shop in Trinity, Onalaska, or even Livingston for the most part. They’ve crunched the numbers, and the numbers say, “Stay away.”
Take Outback Steakhouse, for example. Notice you don’t see one of those anywhere around here? That’s because they’ve figured out that selling a $20 steak to a town that’s used to $2 tacos just doesn’t add up. They know they won’t make it, so they don’t bother. It’s a sad reality, but a reality nonetheless.
So, farewell, Taco Bueno. You were cheap, you were low-quality, and you didn’t understand the first thing about running a profitable business. Here’s hoping that the next entrepreneur who dreams of bringing “fine dining” to Livingston takes a lesson from your mistakes—and maybe thinks twice before setting up shop in a town where folks know better than to pay more than a few bucks for a meal.
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