Taco Tour returns to downtown Manchester
After a successful revival year in 2022, Taco Tour returns on Thursday, May 4, and will feature its largest roster of participating vendors yet, along with two stages of live local music acts throughout the evening.
The Greater Manchester Chamber took the reins of Taco Tour last year, the first to take place since 2019.
“The crowd size was huge,” event director Cole Riel said of last year’s Taco Tour. “To have such a crowd in downtown Manchester, something we just didn’t see happening a lot since Covid, was a big win for the city and it has brought a lot of momentum for us into this year.”
Of about 1,000 of last year’s attendees surveyed by the Chamber, Riel said 73 percent reported discovering a new restaurant that had opened in the area, and 83 percent said they planned to come back to downtown Manchester in the near future. Collected data and feedback from last year’s Taco Tour among restaurants and attendees, Riel said, has aided the Chamber in making several key improvements to the event this time around.
“Everyone has to sign up to do a minimum of 1,000 tacos to be involved, which was not a parameter for participation in the past,” he said. “For most folks that we talked to, it’s between 1,500 and 2,500 tacos, and then some will continue to sell a little bit after. … So everyone now has a better sense of the scale that they will need going forward, and having that in place is going to be huge for everyone to prep.”
He added that the Chamber will also take active steps to manage long lines that form.
“There were a number of lines that kind of zig-zagged all over, and so we’ll have volunteers,” he said, adding that “end of the line” markers will be in place. “Folks can go online to sign up to volunteer and help us keep the lines organized.”
Around 90 restaurants, food trucks and other businesses have signed up to serve tacos this year. They’ll be set up all along Elm Street, which will be closed to vehicular traffic between Bridge and Granite streets. As in previous years, no price of admission is required — taco lovers are invited to simply come down to Elm Street any time during the event’s four-hour period and eat as many tacos as they can for $3 apiece.
“Attendees should expect everyone to be cash only,” Riel said. “That’s the easiest way that we found for speed of processing, and then at the same time too, obviously, cellular issues with so many people in a tight area … can always cause some hang-ups.”
Tacos won’t just be served on Elm either — eateries and other businesses will be set up along many connecting side streets, some of which will have some closures of their own.
“I’m excited for our friends who will be over on Hanover Street,” Riel said. “We have Industry East, who I’ve been told is coming from the trophy this year. Then we also have City Hall Pub, which wasn’t open when we had the event this time last year, so we’re excited to welcome them. … We also have The Potato Concept coming, and they’ll be doing a ‘PoTaco.’”
Other participants this year include bluAqua Restrobar, serving an alligator and andouille taco with steak chimichurri; The Wild Rover Pub, which will have a shepherd’s pie taco; and the newly opened Alas de Frida Mexican Restaurant & Bar, offering chipotle chicken tacos with grilled onions. Several vegan and vegetarian options are also expected — The Sleazy Vegan food truck, for instance, will serve a jackfruit taco with a mango-jalapeño salsa, while The Green Beautiful Vegan Cafe plans to have a “meaty” mushroom taco with red cabbage slaw, pickled peppers and an avocado crema, alongside a side of vegan street corn.
A downloadable map is expected to be available online at TacoTourManchester.com soon. Free shuttle buses will be making regular stops at several key points around the city, including Murphy’s Taproom, the Restoration Cafe and the Currier Museum of Art.
“That’s kind of a different path that people can take that won’t be busy,” Riel said. “It’ll be sort of like a ‘Choose your own adventure’ Taco Tour, just to help people out with planning in advance and making the map easier to understand.”
New to this year’s Taco Tour is live entertainment, including a concert stage at Veterans Memorial Park that will feature Jeffrey Gaines, Frank Viele and local rock group Best Not Broken. On a bandstand by the intersection of Bridge and Elm streets, performers will include Colleen Green, Manchester power pop band Donaher, and reggae rock group Supernothing.
Similar to last year, attendees can go to the event website to cast their vote for the best taco. The winning vendor will receive $1,000 to give to a nonprofit of their choice, in addition to a “Golden Taco” trophy. The “Most Creative Taco” will also be awarded this year — that winner will get a glass taco trophy created by StudioVerne of Manchester.
“We’ll keep voting open through Friday [May 5], … and then we’ll alert the winner sometime that weekend,” Riel said.
Taco Tour Manchester
When: Thursday, May 4, 4 to 8 p.m.
Where: Participating businesses stationed on Elm Street and various connecting side streets in downtown Manchester
Cost: $3 per taco (cash only)
Visit: tacotourmanchester.com
Event is rain or shine and is dog-friendly. Elm Street will be shut down to vehicular traffic between Bridge and Granite streets for the duration of the event, as will a few side streets.
Featured photo: Downtown Manchester’s Taco Tour returns on Thursday, May 4. Photo by Ethos & Able Creative.
