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FLORENCE: Food courts bring in high traffic and big sales.
And owning a food-court restaurant
could make you a multimillionaire.
Whoo!
But the restaurant industry can be ruthless.
[Bleep] I burnt this.
Only got a few seconds.
You guys are working slow today.
I'm Tyler Florence,
and I've been in the restaurant businesses
for over 25 years.
My job each week is to help two teams
of aspiring food-court entrepreneurs
get one step closer to their dream.
Boo-yah!
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
[ Cheering ]
FLORENCE: Over the next three days,
our entrepreneurs will prove to me
that they have a solid concept
along with a concrete marketing plan.
Whoo!
But ultimately,
the winner will be determined
by who brings in the most cash.
I'm just gonna cook from the heart right now.
ALL: R.D.!
Opening a restaurant is no easy task.
We're screwed.
[ Clatter ]
But each week, one team will win
the opportunity of a lifetime...
I don't want to screw up.
...and own their very own food-court restaurant.
Come to me, masses. Let me feed you.
Welcome to "Food Court Wars."
-- Captions by VITAC --
Closed Captions provided by Scripps Networks, LLC.
This week, we're at the WestGate Mall
in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
This upstate town has an appetite
for real-deal Southern cooking.
Let's meet our two teams.
JENN: Mom, I think it might be done.
TRISH: Yeah, I think they are.
They've been in here for a really long time.
Yeah, I think they're done.
And my name's Trish Tirado.
And we make Tirado's empanadas.
Hey, Mom! Mom!
Jenn's my oldest.
And my only girl.
Thank you.
TRISH: An empanada is a stuffed, savory meat pie
with potatoes, olives, and our traditional seasonings.
We'll get a line going here.
Our food is flavorful, but that doesn't mean spicy.
It's traditional Puerto Rican seasonings like sofrito.
It's island food, and it's fun island food.
TRISH: If you're not cooking, get out of the kitchen!
I love Puerto Rican food.
I didn't grow up with Puerto Rican food.
I married into Puerto Rican food.
And once I went to the islands and I tasted it, I was sold.
Line it up, and then I'll take a running push.
JENN: We currently have an empanada food cart.
Wait! Wait! Don't push me off!
Our food cart is fun.
Wait! Aah!
I was about to become a manager at a bakery,
but our dream has always been to have a family business.
So, to make this family business successful, I quit my job.
I got a beef coming up, a pizza, and another beef.
But we can't cook on the cart,
so we'll never be able to have a profitable business
if we only have our cart.
Steven, you could help a little bit.
Why don't you get an apron on?
TRISH: I started the business for my family.
If we fail, she quit her job for nothing,
but I don't we're gonna fail.
Yep.
Now we're cooking with gas.
J.V.: My name's J.V.
I'm 41 years old, and I am owner of The Taco Spot.
MICHAEL: And I'm Michael. I'm 28 years old.
And I'm the manager of The Taco Spot.
Was that gonna be for here, or are you gonna take it to go?
All right, man.
We'll have you up in just a couple minutes.
J.V.: Our tacos are unique compared to other taco locations
because we put Southern twists on them.
It's a whole new brand of tacos.
On a call-in on 10 minutes,
I've got two blackened chickens on a crunch.
I started The Taco Spot with my wife, Lindsey,
four and a half years ago.
Hey, what's going on?
We started this business just as friends, and she won me over.
Will you hand me another lid?
We've been married for six months.
She's the most supportive person in my life,
and I only want to do better for her.
I don't want her to work as much.
But business is tough.
We have two locations.
Our original location only has about 16 seats.
The other one is only delivery and to-go.
So, two fish tacos and a chicken as well.
But it's not reaching its potential.
We put everything we have into these two locations.
Winning this is certainly not just about me.
It's about my wife,
and not being able to offer her financial security --
it really breaks my heart.
Order in.
Me and Michael have known each other for eight years.
I met Michael when I used to be partners in a small restaurant
that had some poker games being played in the back.
Michael here was on a losing streak.
And so we struck up a deal where I'd become the delivery driver.
Dude, thanks. Just hang tight, and we'll have you right up.
I've worked my way up from a delivery-driver position
all the way now to where I'm managing two Taco Spot locations.
All right, buddy. Thank you for coming in, man.
We really appreciate it.
J.V. has been a huge role model in my life.
Another signature fish taco. Looks good to me.
He was there for me.
He gave me an opportunity
when there wasn't anybody else giving me an opportunity,
so it speaks a lot about his personality and his character.
It's the best sauce in the house.
I think we we were lucky enough to win "Food Court Wars,"
it would kind of show my family all the hard work we've put into this
and that it really is a successful thing
and can be a great thing for my future.
Got an Italian ranch, I got potatoes fired.
J.V.: Right now, there's only so much room
for Michael to keep growing,
and he's pretty much already topped out.
Two blackened chickens and a blackened fish.
If we win "Food Court Wars,"
Michael will have the opportunity
to be a business owner and not just an employee.
And I want to give my wife financial security.
This could set us up for life.
JENN: We need to win this food-court restaurant.
We need a place where we can cook and serve
at the same place.
MICHAEL: There's no backing out at this point.
We got to give it our all.
Hey, guys.
Welcome to WestGate Mall in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Tirado's Empanadas and More, The Taco Spot,
the dream of growing your businesses
will come true for one of you.
JENN: The cart is my mom's baby, but this is the opportunity
to actually make this our dream restaurant.
FLORENCE: The winner will open a restaurant
right here in this very busy food court.
All right.
Two days from now is opening day.
The food court will be packed
with people eager to try your food.
The restaurant that earns the most money
will win their space rent-free for one year.
Nice.
When you see an opportunity, you got to go for it.
You only get so many, and this is a big one.
Let's start with testing your concepts.
The halls of the shopping mall are filled with kiosks.
30% of food-court customers are mall employees.
If you impress these guys,
you've got guaranteed, loyal repeat business.
You have one hour to make lunch
and serve it to the kiosk employees.
You need to give them
your signature dish plus your favorite side.
They will eat both your meals,
and then they'll fill out a ballot card.
The restaurant that rates the highest
will win this challenge.
I bet you're wondering what's at stake.
I'm not gonna tell you now,
but I will certainly tell the winner after lunch service,
and trust me, you want to win this challenge.
Let the food-court war begin.
All right.
Go!
Go, go, go, go, go, go.
TRISH: What are you doing first?
Sofrito. I got the sofrito.
Typically, all of my food has that sofrito base,
which is your green pepper,
onion, garlic, cilantro, culantro,
and some special peppers that I grow in my backyard.
All right. So you got the meat and the rice.
I'm gonna start cutting up potatoes.
Okay. Perfect.
Today, we're making a beef empanada
filled with ground beef, potatoes,
and traditional Puerto Rican seasonings.
And then we're making our rice and gandules,
which is traditional Puerto Rican rice and beans.
How you doing?
Good. I'm chopping right now.
We'll do the original,
and we'll do one on soft flour, one on soft corn.
Our original fish tacos are our signature dish.
We always like to use a flaky, white, mild fish,
cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato-cucumber pico,
and a cilantro soy tartar sauce --
and our side item of a smashed garlic potato cake.
MICHAEL: We going with the tartar sauce, Jay?
I am.
I always thought that putting a Southern spin on tacos
would be a real good thing.
This other team doesn't have a clue
what they're getting themselves into.
We're gonna put a little creativity to it
and use some local ingredients.
They're gonna dig this stuff, man.
If this is high, we're in trouble.
Adapting to this new kitchen stinks.
I don't know the stove.
Come on! These don't get hot!
I don't have my pots.
I don't have a good rice pan.
Working with the commercial kitchen
is more scary than exciting.
I'm scared right now.
We're not making this, Jennifer. We're in trouble.
JENN: You might want to squish this one a little bit.
It popped open a little bit.
Meat got in the way.
Two more, Jenn. Let's go.
Today, we're gonna be serving lunch
to the kiosk workers at the mall.
Okay, empanadas are up.
JENN: These are so dark, Mom.
Sorry. I can't control that.
The clock is ticking down,
and our food isn't cooking properly,
and so all of a sudden, we realize that this challenge
became a lot more difficult than we expected it to be.
TRISH: I hope the other team had as much problems as we did.
How are those things mixing up back there?
They're looking good.
Still got to add cheese and the green onions to that?
Oh, yeah.
MICHAEL: Me and J.V., we're feeling pretty good.
Oh, it smells delicious in here.
We're knocking out stuff at a really good pace,
and I'm feeling very confident that we're gonna be ready
when service starts.
It's looking nice.
J.V.: When you think of tacos,
you really don't think of, like, Southern cuisine,
but that's the beautiful thing of what we do.
Get some nice color.
We try to always utilize any local ingredients
or items that people in this area are familiar to.
I'm liking that. There you go, brother.
JENN: Mom, how's that rice coming?
We'll see.
I don't know if it's gonna be ready.
TRISH: Jenn is panicking a little bit up front,
and I'm a little frazzled.
It's a little hard, Jenn, and a little wet.
We need more time on the rice.
Why can't I make this rice? This is basic.
I don't want to take the rice out till the last second.
We got 10 minutes. We got nothing.
This is the worst position to be in.
Shoot. We're gonna lose this.
We're in trouble -- big-time trouble.
J.V.: I'll tell you what, man.
I'm glad that we've worked together for so long, my friend.
MICHAEL: Yeah.
This would not be easy
if we didn't have a good rapport working together.
J.V.: Our lunch boxes are looking great.
Ready to go out there,
distribute it for the kiosk employees.
We're gonna kill it, get a great response,
and show everybody what it's all about.
All right, brother, we did it.
Excellent, man.
All right.
A minute and 12 seconds, Mom.
I don't think it's gonna get any better that this
because I can't get it down.
Rice is hard. We're in trouble.
In the final seconds, somehow we get the rice.
It's still a little crunchy, but it's on the plate.
I think that's plenty.
We lost this competition.
Yep.
This is it, man, last one.
Let's sling some fish tacos.
Let's do it, man. That's what we do.
MICHAEL: We're very nervous.
This is the first challenge of the competition,
and we do not want to start off on the wrong foot.
We barely got the food out on time.
The rice was still a little undercooked.
There's no way people are gonna vote for our food
with undercooked rice against tacos.
All right. Look at this.
As the mall challenge is starting,
you know, me and J.V. thought it was very important
to hustle around as fast as we could.
Right here.
Get to the kiosk first
because first impressions mean a lot to people.
How you doing today, buddy? Doing all right?
My name is Michael. I'm from The Taco Spot.
We wanted to bring you a little lunch today.
We got two of our fish tacos.
We have the best chance of winning the advantage
with our fish tacos.
It's our number-one-selling item back home.
JENN: Hey, ladies. How are you?
Everybody's had a taco, but not a lot of people
have had empanadas or know what Puerto Rican food is.
You can get tacos anywhere.
We have something original, full of flavor.
This is a Puerto Rican empanada.
Even though the food wasn't really up to par,
I know that the food is good.
And rice and gandules, which is like a pea.
So I figured, let's just see what they say.
What we have for you here is our original fish tacos.
Oh, awesome.
It's got a soy tartar sauce.
One's on soft corn, one's on soft flour.
And these two guys right here
are our garlic smashed potato cakes topped with a queso gravy.
Mmm. I think that's the best potato I've ever tasted.
No.
This is a traditional meat pie from Puerto Rico.
To be able to explain what an empanada is...
This one's filled with beef and potatoes
and some other things.
...that was the challenge.
It's got beef inside
with potatoes and things like that.
Empanadas, rice and gandules --
you've got to explain the whole dish.
That's pork, yeah.
Between both dishes, what did you like?
I loved the tartar sauce on the tacos.
Fantastic.
And then the potato cake was just really spicy and delicious.
Okay, cool. Good deal.
The fish taco wasn't so good,
so that's why it's still there.
The fish taco?
Yep, it was just too bland.
It just doesn't really taste like anything to me.
Interesting. And what about the empanadas?
Oh, my gosh, it was so good.
Yeah.
And actually, in the mall, there's nothing like that here,
so it would be like a whole new thing.
I'm good.
My name is Amin.
Yes.
Nice to meet you.
J.V.: The empanada team seems like they're doing really good.
They're hustling around, trying to beat us to these kiosks.
It smells good?
Go team Tirado! Whoo!
And these guys behind us...
[ Chuckles ] Really?
J.V.: If we lose, we're not gonna be very happy.
We're from The Taco Spot.
You're only as good as your last dish.
We have two fish tacos --
one on soft flour, one on soft corn.
This is ours to lose, but overall...
Good stuff? Nice.
Very nice. Very nice.
...I know that we won over some customers.
Take one of these comment cards for us.
Make sure you put a 5 on there for us.
Mmm.
My name's Michael. I'm from The Taco Spot.
You doing all right today?
Tirado's Empanadas and More. How are you doing?
Hey, what's up, brother? You doing all right?
Name's J.V.
All right, thanks.
All right, man. Good job. We did it.
Let's go, man. Let's roll out.
Well, that's it. We did our best.
[ Both laugh ]
The kiosk workers have to like our food better
or else we lose the advantage.
Hey.
Feel good.
Nice little test run?
So, Jenn and Trish,
the kiosk employees said your ground-beef empanadas
were delicious, but your rice was undercooked.
There's a big difference between cooking at home
and cooking at a restaurant.
J.V. and Michael,
you've executed your signature fish taco well,
but although they thought your garlic-mashed potato cake
tasted really good, they just thought
it was a weird combination to serve that with a taco.
MICHAEL: I think there's thousands
of "authentic" Mexican restaurants out there
that people can go to and get
the same ordinary meal they would get
at any other Mexican restaurant down the road,
but we do things a different way.
I've gathered the ballots, and I've got the results.
This was a very tight race,
and it came down to just one vote.
Whoa.
Great.
The restaurant with the highest ranking is...
I've gathered the ballots, and I've got the results.
This was a very tight race,
and it came down to just one vote.
Whoa.
Great.
The restaurant with the highest ranking is...
...The Taco Spot -- J.V. and Michael.
Good job, buddy. Good job.
If our food at its worst is only one point behind, look out.
J.V. and Michael, you're gonna get prime advertising
in the mall's digital marquee.
All right.
The digital marquee is located on Blackstock Road,
which is at the main entrance of the mall.
This is high-traffic area.
J.V.: That's a big victory.
To have that already taken care of for us --
when cars are pulling in the parking lot,
they're gonna see The Taco Spot's there.
That's better than any flyer could ever do.
I have a feeling this race is gonna continue to be tight,
but that being said,
we have a lot of work to do on both of your brands.
Tomorrow, you'll be tested on the second element
of opening a successful restaurant -- marketing.
You need to let the people of Spartanburg know that you're here
and know that you're opening up a restaurant in two days from now.
You'll each develop a marketing program
that will attract customers for opening day.
Keep in mind, the most profitable restaurant wins.
You need bodies to make that happen.
Tonight, you will plan out your marketing event
as well as your menu.
Cool.
I'm gonna meet with each team
to lend you some advice and some support, all right?
So let's get back to your teams, get back to your kitchens.
I want you to start planning it,
and I'll come find you guys one at a time.
Thank you.
Hey, guys. How're you doing? Congratulations on your win today.
MICHAEL: Yeah. I think we're happy about it,
but we know we've still got a lot of work left to do,
All right, cool. Good deal.
So, let me talk about your tacos for a second
because I think you have a really, really good brand.
What I want to do is I want to work an arsenal of three tacos,
and then I want to make sure
you guys embrace the authentic culture,
what tacos are all about.
I think you got to have guac and chips.
I was really excited
to hear Tyler suggested guacamole and chips.
We have an amazing guacamole.
We keep it very simple with just some basic seasonings,
so I think he's really gonna enjoy that guacamole.
I want you to be the best taco in the country.
Yeah. We can do that.
That's what we're striving for. That's what we want to do.
Yeah.
Thank you for your advice.
I want you to think about the word "island,"
and I want you to think about the word "flavor."
I want to expand your brand way past just empanadas
because you have an authentic point of view,
and your food is really, really good.
I think you have a very excellent chance
of winning this whole thing.
I just think you have to not sell the empanadas,
but I think you have to sell Puerto Rico.
Oh, yeah. Great advice.
TRISH: Jenn has told me this a lot.
We shouldn't just be empanadas.
You know, there's so much more to Puerto Rican food.
There's so many layers and flavors.
We should be more than just that.
So I think we're gonna really take that and run with it.
I really want you thinking about your marketing event.
It needs to be spectacular
and get some people in for opening day.
All right? Cool. All right, thanks so much.
Great. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.
So, what are you thinking for the menu for tomorrow?
We have so much more to offer people.
We have great, amazing steak tacos, chicken tacos.
We have plenty of things in our arsenal
that we can bring to the table
that are gonna be killer tacos for everybody to enjoy.
J.V.: I think that maybe we should
probably go with some type of steak.
I think we should do that Meat the Potatoes.
And then let's do that blackened chicken.
The I-26 Twister?
Yeah. Let's do that.
We decided to go with the I-26 Chicken Twister Taco
for the marketing event
because less people are gonna be afraid to try a chicken taco
than they are gonna be to try fish tacos.
For the marketing event, what do you think we should do?
J.V.: Finding out that we had a marketing event to do
was definitely intimidating.
There's actually this M.S. charity walk
going on tomorrow at Cleveland Park.
Sounds good to me.
At the M.S. walk, people are gonna be raising money.
They're gonna be working.
And to be able to give away some food,
especially some good food -- you can't beat it.
The way their making it sound,
they're probably gonna be done right around lunchtime,
so it'll be a perfect time for us
to be there slinging some tacos for them.
It's a win-win for everybody.
I think everybody loves t-shirts, you know what I'm saying?
I think t-shirts catch the eye.
It's something for people to take home, you know?
And they'll wear it again at another time.
It's advertising for us.
Every time they wear it,
it's more advertising for The Taco Spot.
That would be a good effort, you know?
Charity event, giving out stuff to people.
I mean, that goes hand-in-hand together, you know?
It does, man.
MICHAEL: We're gonna be making Taco Spot t-shirts
to hand out at the event, and we're hoping it's gonna be
a great advertising tool, too.
I think that's gonna work out good.
Okay. Where are we gonna do this at?
JENN: We have our marketing event tomorrow.
We have to get the word out.
We have to make up for the lack
of not being on the marquee at the mall.
TRISH: We've done four festivals.
Isn't there any festivals around the area?
You know, what I think is in town is the Denim Fest.
The Denim Fest raises money for victims of domestic violence.
Awesome. All right. Let's do that.
For our marketing day,
we've chosen to go to the Denim Festival
because it's a great cause,
and to be a part of that is kind of cool.
Any time you can put together a great cause and food,
great place to be.
So what do we want to do
so we can get people to come to our grand opening?
How about magnets?
'Cause then they would put on their refrigerator to come back.
Hey, we're winning this thing.
They're gonna come back this year, right?
JENN: Hopefully they're gonna put the magnets
on their refrigerators forever
and remember that Tirado's Empanadas
is at WestGate Mall.
I think we need to take what Tyler said to heart
and change things around.
The idea of switching our menu out is a great idea.
And one of the things that I liked what Tyler said,
and I think that he's spot on --
about flavors and bringing in the island.
And so, remember when we smashed plantains
and we stuffed them with the shrimp, you know,
we made those little bowls?
What do you think of that?
Yeah. I think that's perfect.
I feel like we're missing something, though.
Honestly, I don't know if just the shrimp cups is enough.
What about -- what if we do the papa rellenas?
'Cause those are really easy -- boil the potatoes.
Let's just stick with one thing and do it well.
I don't think that's a good idea.
I don't think it's enough for people to want to come back.
It is enough. I mean, we've got an hour.
The issue is getting Mom to jump onboard
'cause she kind of thinks
she knows how to do everything...
...and doesn't always listen to me.
Yeah. Story of my life.
TRISH: We've got a lot to do here.
JENN: All right.
JENN: Today we have our marketing event,
and we lost our advantage, so we have to make up
for the lack of not being on the marquee at the mall.
I think we need something else.
I don't think the shrimp bowls is enough.
And Mom only wants to make the shrimp cups.
I don't think it's enough
for people to want to come back to our restaurant.
Instead of the shrimp bowls?
No, let's do them both.
TRISH: I'm nervous.
We just make them a little smaller
so they're bite-size.
If we do it, we're taking a risk.
We got to do it. We have to start right now.
You start with the meat, and I'll start with the sofrito.
We just don't have enough time.
I'm gonna kill you.
Why are you gonna kill me?
'Cause, you know, we could have just done the shrimp.
We'd be done already.
The shrimp bowl is a plantain cup
and then we fill it with fresh shrimp
seasoned with sofrito and a little bit of spice.
How many potatoes do you think we need, Jenn?
Two or three per batch,
and I think we got to make four batches.
Papa rellena is a potato fritter filled with a beef filling,
and the outside is a potato dough.
They're delicious. They're full of flavor.
Making a royal mess.
Can't fit much in these little guys, but they work pretty good.
J.V.: The menu for today's marketing event
is our I-26 Chicken Twister and our Meat the Potatoes taco.
The Meat the Potatoes consists of seared steak,
griddled potatoes, and roasted-red-pepper sauce.
That chicken is looking great to me.
Our I-26 Chicken Twister has blackened chicken,
smokey black-eyed peas,
and a cayenne-pepper ranch sauce.
We got to get moving, buddy. We're running low on time here.
I'm confident in the menu items we've chosen,
the sides that we've chosen, the marketing.
Check it out. Nice. Taco Spot t-shirt.
See, we've got the dueling hard-shell tacos.
I'm ready to bring it.
How do you spell "island?"
[ Chuckles ]
I don't know how to spell.
All right.
Let's go.
Let's do it, man.
JENN: For our marketing event, we chose the Denim Fest
because we know there's gonna be
a lot of people supporting a great cause.
Okay. You're gonna start the papas?
Yeah, I'm gonna start on the papas right away.
You get your stuff in order, start on the shrimp,
and then we got to start getting everything done here.
You're in your element, Jenn.
We've done this how many times, festivals?
I know.
Our cart is perfect at festivals.
We're definitely gonna knock this out of the park.
Is the fryer up already?
Their lights are off. We're ready to go.
We're ready to start frying.
It's great to be back in the swing of things.
Do you got the sign up?
When we put together some of the marketing tools,
we were excited about them.
Aren't those awesome?
Perfect, perfect.
The magnets came out awesome. The flyers came out awesome.
Our little sign came out awesome.
I have to figure out this thing.
Just put it on the four corners and be done with it already.
This is hard work.
Mom, don't take forever on that.
We only got a half-hour to get all this stuff done,
and I've only made eight papas.
All right. All right. Calm yourself.
You just made me mess it up.
It's very frustrating when I'm having to make 150 papa rellenas
and she's messing around with the sign.
10 minutes till service time.
Then I need to start cooking.
It's what I've been saying.
Testy, aren't we?
This marketing event is a big deal.
We have a lot riding on this whole thing, and I'm nervous.
MICHAEL: Me and J.V. --
we're very strong in the kitchen with preparing food,
but when it comes to the marketing side of things,
we're kind of weak there
because that's not what me and J.V. are used to.
That could end up being the downfall of this team.
If you don't get out there
and draw people in for the grand opening,
then you're not gonna win this competition.
Got a nice Taco Spot sign as part of our promotion
and part of our marketing plan.
Hey, ladies. How are you?
Good.
We're Tirado's Empanadas and More.
Today you're getting
escape-to-the-island kind of flavors from Puerto Rico.
Wow. Excellent.
This is good.
This food is selling itself.
Come on up.
As you bite in,
pretend like you're sitting on the beach.
The smell -- it was bringing people in.
You guys ever have Puerto Rican food before?
You see that shrimp cooking
and all those sofrito flavors flying in the air,
that was a great marketing piece.
It's just like you were on the beach in Puerto Rico.
Thank you.
If you like it, take one of these flyers here.
This is awesome.
JENN: We need as many supporters as we can get
to come to our grand opening
tomorrow afternoon at the WestGate Mall.
MICHAEL: How are we looking over here on food?
Man, I'm making it happen.
Good, good.
By the time we were actually ready to start serving...
This will definitely stir the crowd.
...I finally looked up,
and there's people dancing, singing.
Everybody seems like they're having a great time.
MICHAEL: We got a medium, large, and extra-large.
Extra-large? Yes, sir.
There you are. Make sure to come out tomorrow.
We got a great event going on at the WestGate Mall.
Got some great chicken tacos, and it really feels good.
J.V.: I try to use Southern influence
through the world of tacos, ma'am.
Before I know it, people were coming up to us,
telling us how great the food was,
that they would come to the opening day
to show some support.
MICHAEL: You got to come to the WestGate Mall
tomorrow between 3:00 and 5:00 to buy some tacos from us.
It feels good, you know?
Hey, guys. How are you?
I'm good.
This place smells fantastic.
It really does.
Jenn, everything's great?
Yeah, everything's going really good.
People seem to like what we have here.
Hopefully they're liking it enough
to come back tomorrow to get the rest of the flavor.
I love it. All right, guys.
I'll be here for a while just sort of watching the crowd,
All right. Awesome.
TRISH: Squeeze a little bit of lime on top of there.
So, I see you're enjoying Tirado's food.
Isn't it great?
I think it's delicious. I could eat a platter of these.
It's wonderful.
And this is something that you'd want to eat on a regular basis?
Would you, like, seek this out?
Yes, 'cause we want something different.
Excellent. I'm so happy you think so.
You will.
All right. Fantastic. Thank you.
I'm actually gonna lick the feta
off of the bottom of these things.
Hi. Good.
It's delicious.
It's really good.
Mm-hmm.
And it's not too, like -- it's not spicy or anything.
You just keep eating.
Excellent. Good. Well, I'm so happy you like them.
Thank you.
MICHAEL: The I-26?
You want some guacamole and chips with that or some rice?
FLORENCE: How you doing, man?
The logo looks spectacular.
It looks really, really strong.
It looks good on me, too, right?
It does. And it looks good on you, too.
Enjoy your taco. I don't want to get in your way.
I will. Thank you very much.
Chicken Twister with a side of guacamole and chips for you, ma'am.
I'll see you tomorrow.
All right.
I have the Meat the Potatoes.
Right. And what do you think about it?
All right.
And is there anything you don't like about it?
The texture could be a little bit better
with the potatoes, maybe a little less done.
Okay, great. So, a little mushy.
Hey, guys. How are you?
Good to see you.
Yeah.
They're great.
They're really good, right?
Oh, you got the chicken.
And you guys love tacos? Big taco fans?
Big time.
Excellent. And what about you?
It's good, but it's just an average taco.
I think it could use a little bit more spice.
I want to win "Food Court Wars" very badly.
I've come a long way,
and J.V. has always been a great mentor to me,
but I'm ready to take that next step and be a partner.
Good. Good.
How are you? First of all, I want to congratulate you.
I thought that was a very smart marketing effort.
You definitely showed these people a good time,
and you got the message out.
You've got a really solid brand.
You've got a beautiful logo.
The t-shirt is fantastic.
Now what we want to do is get the product up
to meet that logo and meet that expectation, right?
So, the taco I had today, without question,
is better than the one I had yesterday.
Without a doubt, without a question.
My thing is, can we get it up to one more level?
J.V.: I know my product's good.
Hearing the criticism, it hurts a little bit.
But I have to put my ego on the back burner
because winning this is certainly not just about me,
it's about my wife, my future family,
and my partner Michael.
You know what's at stake here.
Hi, girls. How are you?
How are you doing?
How are you?
Good. Doing real good.
You guys are like silly giddy.
You excited?
You should be excited.
Yesterday, we were a little bummed,
but today, I think we nailed it.
I thought you absolutely nailed it today.
Jenn, she's my secret weapon. I'm very proud of her today.
You quit your job.
You quit your job.
There are days I wish I didn't quit my job
because it doesn't pay the bills.
I don't like being dependent, but I love working with you.
You've got a very sincere chance of winning this,
but you have to shake this mom-and-daughter thing, right,
and start to realize you're a professional company.
Mm-hmm.
The problem was is that my sons don't have the passion,
but Jenn was there all the time.
She's an awesome kid.
Today, you did tasting portions for 60 people.
Tomorrow, you have to do full meals for 300, 400 people.
Wow.
The cart is cute, but it's not money.
Right.
Not like you would make at a food court
with amazing traffic every day.
We have the cart, but the cart is never gonna be able
to provide for our business as a family.
If you get one brand like this,
the ability to springboard that
into a very interesting business with multiple locations
Right.
We need to win this space
if we want to keep working together as a family.
Congratulations today. Very good marketing event.
All right.
[ Both sigh ]
I think I'm about to cry. [ Laughs ]
MICHAEL: We arrive at the mall on opening day,
and we see The Taco Spot up in lights on the marquee,
and we're really excited.
We know today is gonna be a huge day for us.
Over the past couple days,
Cynthia Masters of Panageries, a restaurant designer,
has been working *** our space.
And I cannot wait to see the work she's done.
Whoa.
This is amazing, man.
Good grief.
This is awesome right here.
As I'm looking at the restaurant for the first time,
it was incredible how far that place had come.
They nailed all the points we wanted to go with --
the warehouse feel, industrial feel --
and I couldn't have pictured it turning out
any better than it did.
This looks legit.
We're gonna sling 'em out of here, brother.
People are gonna be coming up to this thing all day.
Oh, wow.
I love it.
Mom, lookit, they got the lizards with the eyes on there.
Our restaurant looks beautiful.
I love the wood planks on the side of the walls
and the tiki-hut feel.
I can't believe it.
It looks like a real restaurant.
Hey, good morning, everybody. How you doing?
Doing great.
J.V. and Michael,
how's the marquee look outside the mall?
It's pretty impressive, huh?
A lot of people are gonna see that.
So, the last few days, you've worked on your brand,
your food, and you've gotten the word out
to pull customers in.
There is a lot on the line today.
The team that wins the competition
will win their restaurant rent-free for one year.
All right.
[ Sighs ]
In just a couple of hours, this food court will be packed
with people waiting to buy your food.
Remember, one of you
is gonna walk away with your very own restaurant.
May the best restaurant win.
Let the food-court wars begin.
All right.
Sofrito's my thing first, right?
Four batches? Is that what you said?
All right.
Today we're making chicken empanadas,
spinach and feta empanadas, our shrimp bowls,
and papa rellenas that we made yesterday,
plantains, and rice.
I just need hamburgers for the papas, right?
JENN: Just the papas.
So we got the Meat the Potatoes taco,
the Low Country Chicken & Sausage taco.
MICHAEL: For our grand-opening menu,
we decided to go with two chicken options --
the I-26 Chicken Twister
and the Low Country Chicken & Sausage.
J.V.: Tastes like chicken.
We also have a steak taco,
which we call the Meat the Potatoes.
And we're gonna have a vegetarian taco on there.
For the sides, we have the guacamole, salsa, and chips,
and a side of the Low Country red rice
and a side of the black beans.
I'm about to start knocking out pico over here, Jay.
JENN: All right, Mom. Nine minutes down.
All right.
I need the potatoes cut for the -- Steven!
Whoo!
You guys ready?
I'm ready.
All right. Let's go.
JENN: Steven is our helper today. He's my brother.
I need five potatoes right now that you're gonna dice.
I'm so excited to see Steven coming out
because we need his help.
Make sure not to cut them too big
'cause the bigger ones take longer to cook
and we need it done in a half-hour.
Okay. I'm ready for the potatoes for the chicken here, almost.
All right. Almost ready.
You got 10 minutes to peel those plantains.
You guys are taking up too much time on just peeling.
I'm sorry.
I got all the meats done in here.
I'm trying to peel potatoes...
Waiting on you guys to give me potatoes.
...peel carrots, peel plantains.
Keep peeling. You guys are working slow today.
Really, Mom? You're driving me crazy.
Slow your roll, Tirado.
MICHAEL: Lindsey!
Hey, guys.
J.V.: As soon as my wife, Lindsey, showed up...
You tell me what to do, and I'll do it.
Uh, first you can start with that.
All right.
...I knew just her stepping in was gonna be
exactly the hands on deck that would be needed to finish.
There's no words that can describe
how much I appreciate you being here for this.
My wife, Lindsey, is my anchor.
She's my stability.
I'm happy to be here to support you.
All right, my lady.
I'm gonna start making the spinach empanadas right now.
Everything is taking us way too long today.
Okay, the goal is to have
at least 25 of everything ready to go.
I think we bit off a little bit more than we can chew here, Jenn.
You want me to go ahead and portion this out?
Yes. I do.
J.V.: As soon as Lindsey got some of her stuff done
that we asked her to do,
I felt like everything was coming together.
MICHAEL: What all sauces have you got done, Jay?
I've got the "A" sauce done.
I got the Cajun done.
What?
You gonna plate while I serve?
I need to make -- I'm making the...
So no one's gonna serve, essentially.
That's awesome.
I can't make papas and serve the customers.
It's too dirty of a job.
We've got five minutes!
And no one's still talked about how we're plating this!
Somebody has to come up with an escape plan,
and I don't feel like Mom and Steven
are really even thinking about it.
TRISH: As long as we have one thing of everything up there, we're good.
Am I the only one who realizes we're opening a restaurant
in like five minutes?
There's no way we can win.
This is my worst nightmare.
[Bleep]
I've got a Meat the Potatoes on flour and a side of rice.
When the orders started coming in, the line was big.
We have Lindsey on the counter.
Can you tell me what's in your I-26 Twister?
It's very good.
But she really doesn't know much about cooking or the menu.
LINDSEY: We really dropped the ball
by not having those descriptions up there.
J.V.: I know. My fault.
Tell me what they are again.
What is the I-26?
Low Country. You know the Low Country.
The I-26 is black-eyed peas.
It's the Cajun with black-eyed peas.
I always look at the menu when I describe things.
I cannot remember it!
J.V.: Just write it down on the back of each ticket, and then you'll know.
You'll have it.
MICHAEL: I probably dropped the ball on that one a little bit
by not giving Lindsey a better explanation
of the ingredients of those tacos.
Everyone is asking me what is in the tacos.
So let's just calm down.
Let's write each description on each ticket
like I asked earlier.
Veg.
MICHAEL: I could tell J.V. started to get a little stressed out.
This is not good.
Calm down, man. We got this.
We got this. Just don't!
J.V.: Okay, man. I'm in it.
I don't need for you to tell me to calm down right now, man.
I'm just saying.
Don't have time.
You know?
JENN: Okay, actually, I'm all out of papas for right now.
The plantains? Okay.
It's opening day, and nothing is ready for service.
How about some tostones?
We don't have any spinach or shrimp bowls ready to go.
All we have is chicken empanadas,
some rice, and plantains.
WOMAN: Do you want me to come back up here and get it?
Yeah, I'm gonna actually make some
as soon as my mom takes over serving for me.
We need to get more food out here,
or we're never gonna be able to win this thing.
Right now. Right now. Go and do papas as soon as you get that order done.
Today we're making chicken empanadas,
spinach and feta empanadas,
shrimp bowls, papa rellenas, plantains, and rice.
STEVEN: You can't serve food when you run out.
You've got to improvise back there.
Start making it.
MICHAEL: For our grand-opening menu,
we decided to go with two chicken options --
the I-26 Chicken Twister
and the Low Country Chicken & Sausage.
We also have a steak taco,
which we call the Meat the Potatoes.
And we're gonna have a vegetarian taco on there.
For the sides, we have the guacamole, salsa, and chips,
and a side of the Low Country red rice
and a side of the black beans.
LINDSEY: We got an I-26 on flour.
Just hang them and I'll start calling them out.
I'll come out when I get back here.
At this point, I've decided I'm gonna go ahead
and start taking over expediting.
I need another I-26 on the fly.
It's gonna be $13 altogether, please.
Lewis?
It's just another part of being manager.
Low Country, Low Country.
Do whatever it takes to win this.
JENN: I need a rice and two shrimp bowls.
That will be $32.
TRISH: Great. Thank you.
Somehow this family has come together and made it work.
Now we're cranking out food.
All right. There you go.
It's spicy. It's real good.
FLORENCE: Five minutes left.
All right. I've got a salsa-guacamole duo.
Give us another minute. We'll call your name when your taco's ready.
You got any coming up? 'Cause then I can serve people.
Hang around close and we'll call your name when it's ready.
I got some tostones up!
That'll be $4, please.
$7, please.
$23, please.
Oh, you're welcome.
You come back and tell me
if it tastes like Puerto Rico.
Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please?
The food-court war is now over.
Time is up. Taco Spot, Tirado's, well done.
[ Cheers and applause ]
All right, brother.
What do you think? Do you think we got them?
Whoo!
Clean up this mess.
Congratulations, guys.
You have done an amazing job.
Opening up a restaurant is not an easy task.
As you can see,
you got your support system of your family and friends here.
MICHAEL: I want this very badly.
It's a big opportunity
for J.V. and I and Lindsey and The Taco Spot.
And to win this would be
a huge stamp of recognition for us as a brand
and would mean a lot to all of us.
Jenn and Trish, how do you guys think you did?
We were cranking out empanadas like nobody's business,
I want to applaud both teams.
I thought you did a fantastic job.
J.V. and Michael, the customers did like the fact
you offered a wide variety of taco options,
and I like the fact
that you really kind of nailed the Southern taco.
However, some diners felt the tacos lacked flavor.
Trish and Jenn, you embraced your heritage,
you embraced island flavors, and customers really enjoyed
your authentic Puerto Rican food.
You found yourself in the weeds early
because the kitchen was behind.
Despite the backed-up kitchen,
your customer service and the smiles
kept people waiting happy.
This is a big deal.
One of you two teams
is about to win a restaurant rent-free for one year.
I've calculated the totals,
and the restaurant that earned the most will win,
and it all comes down to this.
The restaurant with a grand total of $1,751,
the winner of "Food Court Wars," is...
...Tirado's Empanadas and More.
[ Cheers and applause ]
I don't know how we did it, but it happened.
There aren't many times in life that you can say
that you made all the people that you care about the most
proud of you, but today's a day like that.
I'm so happy for you guys.
JENN: This is exactly what we wanted.
This is what we need to be able to go to the next step,
so now it's worth it.
Now I know why I don't have a different job.
I can't believe we won!
I can't believe we did it.
JENN: All of our hard work finally paid off.
We deserve this. Our family deserves this.
Thanks.
I picked the right kid. [ Laughs ]
And now this is a true family restaurant.
Oh, Steven, you did good, too.
MICHAEL: It was very disheartening to me,
when we were announced the losers,
but at the same time, it was a great experience.
I was very happy for Tirado's.
They did a great job. They deserve it.
I wouldn't have wanted to lose to anybody else.
Oh, we're proud of you.
J.V.: We put our best foot forward.
I really believe in The Taco Spot.
I think this is something that you'll see in the future.
We're not going anywhere.
Can you believe it?
This is our place.
TRISH: I'm so excited. I'm so proud of Jenn.
I'm so overwhelmed at the opportunity.
And I still cannot believe that we won.
I can't believe it.
You know, I think we should call it Tirado's Island Flavors.
Trish, Jenn, this is Spencer Dawkins.
He's the mall manager here.
Thank you so much.
Thank you, guys.
I also want to present you
with the first dollar you ever made.
Aw! I love it.
Are you guys ready to sign a lease?
TRISH: I'm shocked.
It's hard to grasp
that you just won a place in a food court for a year.
Ladies, congratulations. You've got a restaurant!
Whoo!
Am I in a dream? [ Chuckles ]
JENN: Where are we gonna put that?
Hang it right here.
People pay, and they can --
Really, Mom?
[ Laughter ]