Every morning, Juma Ali and his family go shopping for ingredients to make fresh birria tacos, burritos, and a broad selection of other foods. Then, they head to their taco and ice cream shop at 4760 W. 130th St. and start cooking.
Aside from the corn and beans kept in steamers, they cook each dish right after a customer orders it, rather than reheating pre-cooked foods.
“We cook as we go. That’s why there’s always a wait – because everything is made to order,” Ali said.
Locos Street Tacos and Burritos opened this summer, serving ice cream, milkshakes, and made-to-order meals to neighbors and workers in the area. On a mid-July visit at lunchtime, a steady stream of cars filled the drive-through, and a Metro Life Flight crew gathered at the picnic tables near the front window – Ali said the crew typically comes to the shop twice a week.
Bursts of customers, including workers at a neighborhood barber shop and roofing contractors, stepped up to the window on Thursday before waiting for their food and eating at the picnic tables. Sometimes customers who live nearby will place their order and then stop by a corner store or their home before returning to pick up their food, Ali said.
Juma Ali owns the restaurant with his brother, Mo Ali. The two brothers run the shop with their sister, mother, and father, and two additional workers. In the coming months, they’re looking to grow their team and expand the restaurant’s hours and menu options. (For more information about job openings, contact Juma Ali at 216-801-3077.)
The restaurant is currently open Tuesday through Sunday from noon until 10:30 p.m. Later this year, Ali hopes to open at 8 or 9 a.m. with a breakfast menu and close at midnight on weekdays and 1 a.m. on weekends.
In addition to the signature birria tacos, Locos offers a variety of tacos, burritos, quesadillas, and burgers, as well as sides like mac ‘n cheese and street corn in a cup and drinks including flavored Jarritos sodas and Mexican Coke.
Customers’ favorite dishes include the birria tacos, the smash burger, and the California burrito, which Ali described as “a giant burrito with fries in it.” Ali recommends the birria tacos, which are crispy grilled corn tortillas filled with stewed beef or chicken, melted mozzarella cheese, cilantro, and onions. Priced at two for $6 or $3.50 a piece, they come with secret sauce and broth, known as consomé, on the side.
“Everybody’s loving the birria tacos. Because you have that consomé dip, and then when you take that first bite, that’s all cheese coming out. That’s everybody’s favorite,” Ali said.
The Locos Tacos restaurant originated from his dad’s passion for perfecting this type of taco. After seeing a video featuring birria tacos on social media, Ali’s dad spent months perfecting his recipe.
“He just grew a passion for it,” Ali said. “He started making it at the house, and it was just so good. We went to other food trucks and tried it, and they were OK. And he just had an image to make them way better and fresher and nothing just sitting.”
Locos Tacos originally planned to only sell food, but later decided to add ice cream options to their menu after hearing from neighbors that previous owners had promised to continue selling ice cream there for kids in the baseball and softball leagues. The shop now offers ice cream cones, milkshakes, sundaes, ice cream sandwiches, and hot and iced coffee.
The location, which was once the Frosty Dog ice cream shop, had been vacant for years, Ali said. The building needed new piping, and the Ali family owned it for two years before opening Locos Tacos because they were working on getting it ready, he said.
Kayla Robinson visited Locos Tacos the first time on Thursday after passing by it every day on the way to work at Sharper Image Barbershop. Robinson, who was there with a coworker, didn’t order anything this trip but said she’s looking forward to coming back to try the ice cream.
A group of roofing workers from a Dayton-based company came by Locos Tacos on Thursday too. They were working down the street and looked up nearby food options, said Grant Gilliland, one of the workers. He tried a California burrito, street corn, and peanut butter pretzel milkshake and said he would come back to Locos Tacos if he’s in the area again.
“We just love making our customers happy. That’s our main goal. Because we care about quality over anything else. And we load everything up,” Ali said.
Located at 4760 W. 130th St., Locos Street Tacos & Burritos is open Tuesday through Sunday from noon until 10:30 p.m. The restaurant is currently hiring. For information about job openings, contact Juma Ali at 216-801-3077.
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