King David Taco's Liz Solomon Dwyer on growing a cult New York food brand

The Modern Retail Podcast

King David Tacos began as a Brooklyn-based taco cart and has expanded to dozens of locations, and has big expansion ambitions beyond New York City.

According to founder and CEO Liz Solomon Dwyer, this is thanks to its persistent branding and ability to grow a rapt customer base. She joined this week's Modern Retail Podcast and spoke about the company's growth and ambitions.

King David began in 2016 after Solomon Dwyer quit her job in advertising and made the bold move to go into the food business. She grew up in Texas and believed there to be a big hole in the breakfast taco market in New York.

As she described, her father told her that she should open a taco stand in Times Square. "I thought that was an absurd idea," she said. Her father's response was that "it's just weird that they're not there. And it seems like so perfect for the New York morning."

The idea stuck with her. It first began as a catering company, and then started an outdoor cart. Today, King David Tacos is available in over 60 retail locations, its own brick-and-mortar restaurant and even in the hot bar section of select Whole Foods locations.

The most important aspect to get right, according to Solomon Dwyer, was the branding. Tex Mex food, she realized, had never quite made it in New York City -- and that's likely because of the way the restaurants messaged themselves.

"I feel like part of the reason that breakfast tacos had struggled to take hold here was because everything was all Texas-theme, Southern-themed," she said "It's theme-y theme-y, gimmick gimmick." And for her, she wanted King David's to be more authentic. It helped, of course, that she had advertising experience in her back pocket.

With this playbook, business is quickly picking up -- though Solomon Dwyer is still figuring out ways to evolve the overall model. For example, the tacos are now available in Whole Foods's hot bar, and she is trying to figure out a way to make her products stand out in a usually un-branded section of the store. "It's been a challenge," she said.

But she does have one important piece of advice for people trying to learn the ropes; the most important way to build a business like hers is to become a cult. "The way you sell a lot of tacos is you become a destination," she said.