Meet Josh Luger | Capital Tacos Co-Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Josh Luger and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Josh, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
My business partner and I are serial entrepreneurs, with a broad background across multiple different industries. We’ve always had a passion for the food industry. While we had some different professional touch points with it in the past, we decided to go head-first into it with Capital Tacos. Our ambition from the beginning was (and is) to serve the most flavorful, inventive Tex-Mex out there – while creating a restaurant company built for the future, not from the past. Over the years, we’ve put our heads down, opened seven stores, and developed a massive, cult-like following in the communities we serve before we began franchising last year. We’ve had hundreds of requests over the years to bring Capital Tacos to more folks across multiple markets, including Atlanta. And we couldn’t be more excited to be doing that now.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are most known for two things: serving the absolute best, most flavorful Tex-Mex known to man – and being an asset to the communities in which we serve. On the Tex-Mex side, we’ve developed a large and devoted fan base around our food given our approach. We run a true scratch kitchen, arriving in the wee hours each morning to prep dozens of homemade recipes and ingredients daily. Our main dishes can be had as tacos, burritos, bowls, nachos, crazy fries or salads – and they are presented as chef-created flavor profiles. Meaning we don’t simply drop a protein on something and ask if you want cheese and sour cream as we go down a line. We specifically craft each of our 13 core flavor profiles with 5-8 specific proteins, toppings, and sauces to deliver unique combinations that you haven’t tasted before. We’ll even have a specific sauce in house just for one flavor profile, if that’s what it takes. We pride ourselves on offering up something for everyone with over 100 menu items. Our many signature and creative starters and sides (our Mexican Street Corn, Queso Bites, Chips & Queso, Capital Fries) are not to be missed, and our Monster Quesadillas (two 12-inch burrito shells, loaded with flavor) are massively popular. We aim to make sure everything is fun for kids with a wide-ranging kids menu that they love. As a result, a majority of what folks order with us aren’t actually tacos! We don’t leave our food sitting in a steam well all day – we grill everything to order. We consistently run a variety of specials, ranging from sides like the Mac & Queso to creative empanadas, taquitos, homemade desserts and special tacos. We tell folks to always expect the unexpected when it comes to new items we may introduce. Off the grill, and in the community, we take our responsibility seriously and folks thankfully notice that. We provide discounts to local leaders such as teachers, public service employees and public safety personnel. We partner up with local non-profits on various cases and benefits. We’ve even partnered up with the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning players and local WWE wrestling superstars on special tacos of the month, where a portion of the proceeds go to their charity of choice. We also provide advancement and ultimately ownership opportunities to our team members, as well as franchising opportunities generally to local folks who might want to join our team as owners. We view us coming to a community as a partnership and try our hardest to engage at every level.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
A few places I’d recommend to a friend visiting the area include checking out The Beltline, The Battery, Krog Street, Ponce City Market, and Avalon. The aquarium is iconic and always a must-see. I’d also recommend taking a walk around downtown Roswell and Buckhead. And, of course, going to a ballgame (or two) at the new Truist Park is at the top of my must-do in Atlanta list.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
No one has been more important in supporting me than my family, namely my wife, Liz. She’s always there to support me in the roller coaster that is entrepreneurialism, and is a great sounding board and advisor as well. I lean on her daily for encouragement and wisdom. More broadly, I also consume a lot of books about the founding of businesses generally, and especially about the stories and successes of some of the best restaurant and retailer brands of all-time and our time. “How Did You Do It, Truett” by Chick-fil-A Founder and CEO S. Truett Cathy, and “Grinding It Out” by Ray Kroc, about McDonald’s, are two of my personal favorites, of many.

Website: https://capitaltacos.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/capitaltacos/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/capital-tacos/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CapitalTacos

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CapitalTacos

Other: https://capitaltacosfranchise.com/ https://www.tiktok.com/@capitaltacos

Image Credits
Capital Tacos