It’s always ‘Taco Tuesday’ at this popular Columbus food truck. Now they’re expanding.

Tuesdays Taco Truck will soon be slinging up West Coast style tacos from its first brick-and-mortar restaurant location in Columbus.

Tuesdays is a taco truck with a commitment to fresh ingredients and West Coast style cuisine. It’s the brainchild of married couple Jeff White, a California native, and Angie White, a veteran of the local food scene.

Since launching in 2018, Tuesdays has become a staple in the Columbus food truck circles. The Whites announced in early October their plans to expand the business and open their first restaurant in February 2021.

Angie, originally from St. Louis, has worked in the Columbus service industry for over 20 years. She’s the chef of the operation while her husband Jeff, retired military, focuses on the business side.

When the truck goes out, though, both are in the back putting food together.

Where every day is taco Tuesday

The idea for a food truck was first planted when the couple visited Austin, Texas, and saw the city’s flourishing street food culture. But they didn’t go all-in until the perfect vehicle landed in their laps — or rather, on their screen.

Jeff was browsing Craigslist one day when he spotted a Little Debbie truck for sale near Atlanta. Another pair of food truck hopefuls discovered that their county prohibits food trucks after they had already purchased the vehicle. The Whites bought it bare-boned and outfitted it with equipment.

Since it first opened, Tuesdays has earned a name for itself as a destination for fresh, West Coast style cuisine. The Whites source all their produce locally from Tumbleweed Farmer’s Market and pride themselves on the care they give to each plate.

“Southern California to us has kind of translated to just being super fresh,” Angie said. “We do everything ourselves. We cut our own tomatoes for pico. We hand cut our own meat, it’s all marinated by us and we do it daily.”

In addition to its classic street tacos, Tuesdays churns out creative fusion dishes each week. Recent specials include a Bulgogi beef taco with pickled red onions, carne asada loaded fries, and pozole, a spicy Mexican soup.

The lime green taco truck sets up shop at a variety of local businesses throughout the Columbus area (weekly schedules are posted on their social media). The business has been doing well enough to outgrow its mobile space, something the Whites noticed even before this year.

“We’re so busy that we just can’t do any more business,” Angie said. “That’s why we keep our lunch periods or dinner period so short, because we can’t stock enough product on the truck to do really any more.”

‘Surprising’ success during COVID

The couple had been planning to expand into a restaurant prior to the pandemic but the accompanying uncertainty forced them to put those plans on hold. They weren’t sure how Tuesdays would fare during COVID-19 closures, but soon saw that their business actually increased.

Food trucks have largely been spared from the economic difficulties faced by restaurants during the coronavirus pandemic. Their grab-and-go structure feels safer and culinary variety keeps customers coming back. Another local food truck, the Spankin’ Spoon, also announced plans this year to expand into a brick-and-mortar space.

“Our sales are up over last year...We just are busier,” said Angie. “We were outside, we were to-go, and with other brick and mortar restaurants closing, we were accessible. So we grew, you know, it was surprising to us.”

Now, the Whites’ plans to open a restaurant are full steam ahead. Their new restaurant, located at 3001 Williams Road, will stay as close to its food truck roots as possible. The original taco truck will also continue to operate as usual.

“Our plans are really taking our taco truck and kind of putting it inside,” Angie said. “So we’ve added seating, obviously. But it’s really going to be like you’re visiting our food truck in the restaurant.”

The focus of the menu will be on Tuesdays’ street tacos. Some fusion taco specials will migrate to the regular menu at the restaurant, which will open for lunch and dinner. The truck’s popular elote — fire-roasted street corn with crema, cotija cheese, and chili seasoning — will also be coming to the restaurant.

Tuesdays may also experiment with vegan and vegetarian fare. Blackened cauliflower “steak” tacos and quesadillas were recently trialed at the taco truck to potentially include on the restaurant’s menu. Beer and wine, nachos, quesadillas and more will also be added.

The Whites hope to launch the Tuesdays restaurant in February 2021.

This story was originally published November 12, 2020 at 5:00 AM.