My Super Taqueria’s move up into a restaurant is a dream come true for the owners.
Robert Villarreal, owner of My Super Taqueria, always dreamt of owning a business, now he’s grown his food truck into a restaurant in downtown Franklin.
In 2019, he and his wife, Martha, took the first step to making that dream come true by purchasing a food truck to sell authentic Mexican food, Villarreal said.
The Franklin family first started parking their truck in Nashville. But they were told they could sell there for a few months, but they would need to find a new location to continue their business after that.
They wanted to locate somewhere permanent to develop a strong customer base. So, they looked closer to home and found a spot at 298 W. Jefferson St., Franklin, where the truck parked day after day for years.
After years in that spot and setting up at downtown festivals, the food truck developed a following. My Super Taqueria customers loved the food so much they often asked Villarreal if he would open a restaurant, he said.
“Many of my customers will tell me ‘how great it will be to have a restaurant’ or ‘it will be perfect for you to have a restaurant.’ Most of my customers were encouraging me to consider opening a restaurant,” Villarreal said.
The family found a spot at 89 E. Jefferson St., just a few blocks east of the old parking spot. The space was already set up to run as a restaurant as the most recent building occupant was Hickory Hillz BBQ, which operated in Franklin for part of 2021 before scaling back operations to the original restaurant in Edinburgh.
At the May 29th grand opening and in the weeks since, many returning customers have come out to support the Villarreal family.
“All my old customers that come here and they come back to me because they’re happy to see the restaurant open since there’s a place for them to have time to hang out with their families and eat here,” Villarreal said.
Opening the restaurant has eliminated challenges the Villarreal family faced with the food truck.
“It became difficult because the weather wouldn’t always be nice, when we had rainy days or really cold winters … we wouldn’t have customers because they have nowhere to sit to avoid the bad weather,” Villarreal said.
With the restaurant, the Villarreal family can keep their restaurant open during their normal business hours without the weather getting in the way.
“I feel so happy and so excited to have a restaurant. I never had a restaurant before so this is unbelievable to have one, you know it was my dream to have a restaurant now they are coming true,” Villarreal said.
The Villarreal family has lived in Franklin for 22 years and they’ve grown to love the community. Support from the community and support from the family has made the business thrive in Franklin, Villarreal said.
Villarreal said his wife and their children Marlene, Noemi and Emmanuel have all worked hard to help grow the business, Villarreal said.
“My oldest daughter (Marlene) helps me Friday and Saturdays, my younger daughter (Noemi) helps me sometimes during the week, weekdays and they help me a lot. I really appreciate them for that,” Villarreal said. “They always want to be together and will help me.”
The family is excited to see what the future holds for My Super Taqueria.
“So now it’s time to get to work, and work hard to get it (My Super Taqueria) going,” Villarreal said.
The My Super Taqueria food truck is still up and running and has set up at events at the DriveHubler.com Amphitheater this year.
