Reader: Did Denver Need Another Taco Shop?

Taco Uprising is marking eighteen months in business with a warning: It might not make it. The taqueria and cocteleria opened in June 2023 at 2849 Welton Street in Five Points, and business has decreased significantly since then. This year’s sales were down 40 percent from the restaurant’s first six months, which shocks owner Matias Gutknecht because “those first six months, no one knew us, we were brand-new,” he says.

Now Taco Uprising’s survival is week-to-week and if nothing changes, the restaurant could close before the end of the year. “It’s a very tough and challenging landscape for restaurants to survive in Denver right now,” Gutknecht says.

But Taco Uprising could be facing some specific challenges, readers suggest in comments on the Westword Facebook post of the restaurant’s plight. Says Diego:

Drive past it every day on my way home. I literally never stop because:
A. Zero parking.
B. Over-priced odd tacos.
C. We want actual tacos, people. Stop gentrifying street food. Seriously. Just keep it simple. That’s why the Mexican joints that prosper do so well. Because it’s true to the roots. Not white people taco night…..

Responds Miguel:

That’s too bad. Just not enough foot traffic in that area. Great place and great owners. I’ll try to stop by this weekend.

Wonders Mike:

Did we need another taco shop? There are plenty here that sell overpriced crappy food.
You can’t open the wrong business and then cry about how it’s everyone else’s fault you failed.

Adds Oren:

I would rather eat tacos from a vato grilling under a tent awning with plastic Cosco tables and chairs next to a nightclub or the flea market than go to a white-dude restaurant selling $7 tacos. That’s some culture appropriation BS.

Relies Sid:

One taco place is eliminated, two more pop up. It’s like Hydra

Explains Dragos:

According to a 2005 study by Ohio State University, about 60 percent of restaurants fail in their first year. However, the National Restaurant Association reports a lower failure rate of 30 percent in the first year. Here are some other statistics about restaurant failure rates:

Five-year survival rate: 80 percent of restaurants that don’t fail in their first year go out of business within five years. Franchise failure rate: Studies estimate that franchise failure rates can be as high as 50 percent, but others show lower rates around 20 percent.

Restaurant profit margin: The average profit margin for a restaurant is only 6.2 percent.

Some say that the primary reasons for restaurant failure are preventable. Factors that can contribute to a successful restaurant include: savvy business leadership, a delicious menu, experienced staff, a great location, and stellar vision.

Notes Brian:

Hmmmm, minimum wage goes to $19/hour pension and all the restaurants close….hmmm.

Counters Benjamin: 

If you can’t afford to pay your employees, then you should close.

Concludes Chris:

Why is this a story? A business with a faulty business plan fails. Happens thousands of time a day in this country.

Have you eaten at Taco Uprising? What did you think? Post a comment or share your thoughts at editorial@westword.com.