Julia Williams

Editor-in-Chief

Northeast native Juan Bautista took over El Taco at 5200 Independence Ave., in February 2024 — absorbing the former restaurant’s employees and transforming the location into a taco and wing joint — KC Tacos and Wings.

Business owning — and service industry operations — however, was not a new concept for Bautista. Growing up in the Historic Northeast, he shared that he landed his first job at Garozzo’s Ristorante in the Columbus Park neighborhood (526 Harrison St.) when he was 16 years old. 

However in 1999 — continuing to work in Italian cuisine — Bautista opened up his first restaurant in the Brookside neighborhood, Carmen’s Cafe (6307 Brookside Plaza) where the business has continued to operate for the past 26 years. 

 In 2015, he found himself drawn back to the Northeast community and it was then that he decided to open up a new business — El Indio, Pollos Asados Al Carbon — in a parking lot at the intersection of Chelsea and Independence Avenues. 

This food truck specializes in barbecue, Mexican and Latin inspired chicken menu items, grilling up orders and serving customers right out of its mobile kitchen. 

When he took over El Taco in 2024, Bautista shared that he added wings to some already existing Mexican selections as there were no chicken wing options on the Avenue at the time. 

In addition to wings and tacos, he said its burrito bowls are a popular menu item, which was an addition that some of his female employees were very passionate about adding as an option.

Immersed in the service industry for so long, Bautista shared that his restaurants — like many others — have experienced a shift in the public’s relationship with dine-in culture over recent years. This includes seeing an increase in to-go orders and implementing food delivery services, such as Door Dash, which is available at KC Tacos and Wings. 

“The service industry has changed,” he said in an interview. “I just enjoy coming in and working a little bit and that’s it. My working vibe is not the same; I try not to overwork as much as I used to.”

However, despite these changes, he shared across all his restaurants, he will spend a majority of his time at KC Tacos and Wings, where he starts each morning. 

“It’s kind of weird when I opened my business in Brookside, it never crossed my mind that I would come back to the Northeast,” Bautista said in an interview. “It’s working, so far it’s been good.”

Both KC Tacos and Wings and El Indio run specials on specific days throughout the week. At KC Tacos and Wings, it offers a wing special on Wednesdays of “buy an order, get an extra half order free.” This is inclusive of any wing coatings this restaurant offers, from garlic parmesan, buffalo and lemon pepper to barbeque, spicy garlic and thai, among others.

On Tuesdays at El Indio, the truck offers its “buy one chicken, get one and a half for $20.”

For additional information on KC Tacos and Wings — including hours of operation and menu items — visit its social media page at: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556314664983.