Photo by Ana Good.
Taco mama
Taco Mama is planning to open in the former Hart & Soul Coffee Shop in Edgewood.
When word began to spread that the former Hart & Soul coffee shop in Edgewood would soon become home to Taco Mama, the Homewood community received the news with mixed reactions.
It’s not the restaurant itself some Homewood residents have a problem with, but its choice in location. The new Taco Mama will open just steps away from the popular La Bamba Grill, leaving some residents to wonder how two Mexican-inspired restaurants will coexist.
Others, including Taco Mama owner Will Haver, believe that because the restaurants’ styles are different, they will complement each other, not detract from one another.
When news outlets reported the new Taco Mama location, Homewood residents held little back online, sharing their thoughts of Edgewood’s newest tenant on the “What’s Happening in Homewood” Facebook group.
Edgewood resident Marc Wolfe was one of the most vocal commenters on the topic, empathizing with the owners of La Bamba.
“I was shocked when I heard it would be Taco Mama moving into the Hart & Soul space,” said Wolfe. “They could have put anything there.”
Wolfe, who is originally from Arizona but has lived in Alabama since 1998, said he would have loved to see a Cajun-themed restaurant open in the space.
He knows all too well, he said, what it’s like to have two businesses competing within a small radius. Wolfe said that as a manager of a company in the area, he saw his store’s sales numbers slip when a competitor moved across the street.
Wolfe said he worries La Bamba will suffer a similar fate.
“Will Haver has a machine going,” he said of Taco Mama. “He will kill it in that location. He’s got a good concept, good food, and combined with a great location, I know he’s going to do very well.”
Wolfe said he hopes, for the sake of both businesses, he is being too pessimistic.
“I know La Bamba will keep its regulars,” he said. “Maybe Taco Mama will bring new business to the area, which would be good for all the businesses in Edgewood.”
Asked about the ongoing conversation about his restaurant, Haver said he and his team have no intention of hurting other people’s businesses. A move to Edgewood, he said, has been a dream of his for many years.
“I love that neighborhood,” he said. “I love how the community operates and have a lot of friends who live in the area.”
When the opportunity presented itself to open a Taco Mama in Edgewood, Haver said he didn’t hesitate.
“For us, we wanted to be on a street with other great restaurants,” he said. “Great restaurants bring people.”
Brad Spencer, another Homewood resident, said he is excited to see Taco Mama move into Edgewood.
“Businesses ought to be free to locate where they believe they will have the best return,” said Spencer. “As long as both put out good food, they will have customers.”
If either restaurant has an initial advantage, said Spencer, he believes La Bamba does.
“La Bamba is the establishment in Edgewood,” said Spencer. “Taco Mama is the restaurant that needs to come in and earn the business of the neighborhood. La Bamba already has its fans.”
Haver said his restaurant’s draw will be in how it sets itself apart.
Because Taco Mama runs on a different model — they are more fast-casual, less sit-down — and because catering is such a large part of his business, Haver said he believes Taco Mama and La Bamba can coexist.
The Edgewood Taco Mama will be bigger than those at his other locations, said Haver, lending itself even more to the catering side of the business.
Construction will begin soon, he said, following the recent stamp of approval by the City of Homewood.
When the garage doors finally open to a crisp afternoon in January, Haver said he’s confident Edgewood will benefit as a whole.
“We will both win,” he said, referencing what he describes as Taco Mama’s harmonious coexistence with La Paz in Crestline.
Taco Mama will open at 1014 Oxmoor Road.
La Bamba owners Misti and Peter Cooper declined to comment on the matter.
