By Olivia Turner | Arts & Life Editor

A new, blue-themed taco spot, Sison Tacos, is taking up residence downtown on the corner of Franklin Avenue and 6th Street, formerly one of the locations of Brû Artisan Coffee Works. While Sison might be new to the restaurant game, Wacoans have been seeing this business’s smiling taco logo on Ziploc-style bags of horchata and paper trays of homemade tacos at local events for years now.

To celebrate the move into the new location, owner Edgar Gomez hosted a grand opening party Tuesday night, where he served juicy tacos and fruit-flavored refresher waters alongside his family. Throughout, attendees lounged and chatted at tables as they ate, surrounded by blue and white decor and a balloon arch with peach accents. A ribbon-cutting ceremony took place outside the storefront as dusk set in.

“It’s a dream come true, a very surreal feeling,” Gomez said, after thanking his family for their support throughout the transition.

Faith Ward, who attended the grand opening, said she first tried the restaurant’s food at last year’s Baylor Homecoming celebration. Though she said she is picky about her horchata, Sison has some of the best she’s tried.

“I think the location is very unique to have a taco brick and mortar here in the downtown area that’s walking distance from our other businesses,” Ward said. “I think he [Gomez] does a great job of working with the community and serving the community, so I’m looking forward to seeing him continue to make an imprint in Waco as a minority business owner.”

Another attendee, Booz Ramirez, has been a customer from the start. He said the restaurant’s “it factor” is its homemade tortillas and fruit water beverages, both signs of authentic Mexican cuisine.

“Most of the tacos that I tried in Waco usually taste like Tex-Mex, but I feel like Sison Tacos taste like real Mexican flavor,” Ramirez said.

Those flavors derive straight from Gomez’s family recipes, which go back all the way to his great-grandparents. Since he was young, he has been replicating those recipes in his own cooking, taught to him by his family.

From the preservative-free fruit drinks to the barbacoa that takes an entire day to make, everything is made in-house, Gomez said.

“We definitely try to keep it as authentic as possible,” he said. “I concentrate on quality, really and just us making it, and not taking any shortcuts.”

Gomez said Peter Ellis, the owner of Brû Artisan Coffee Works, offered the location to him to open a brick-and-mortar restaurant for Sison following the coffee shop’s move to their other location on Austin Avenue. Gomez said he was hesitant at first due to finances and having recently taken over the business from his family. Still, he took a chance on the historic Praetorian building.

Gomez said his story began in Idaho, where he was born shortly after his parents first moved to the U.S. from Mexico. They then made their way down to Waco.

“They came with really nothing,” Gomez said. “It’s just really good to see that perspective, of how God has blessed us, but also just that you can put your mind to something. I think you can work towards it.”

Gomez’s parents started the business back in 2015 when it was still known as Gary’s Grill. At that time, the family sold their tacos locally out of a canopy before purchasing a food truck in 2018, where they expanded to selling at locations like Pinewood and Brû.

Gomez then took up the business a few years ago at just 18 years old. By that time, he had dropped out of high school, begun working the truck full-time, and later finished school. He eventually became involved with Startup Waco and took business courses through a small program at Baylor to gain more knowledge on how to run his business from other local entrepreneurs.

“I was able to learn so much from them and their experiences through me asking questions and just developing being able to talk in public,” Gomez said. “It was definitely a big change and helped me in the business.”

As he learned, Gomez said he decided to completely rebrand the business, changing the name, color scheme, font and logo for the bluer, more eye-catching look that many Wacoans know and love today.

In the next couple of months, Gomez said he has plans to host a chess club at the restaurant every Monday, bring in local live music artists and expand to DoorDash and Grubhub for mobile ordering. Meanwhile, the food truck will continue to make appearances around town at events like Baylor celebrations and the farmers’ market, he said.

Through the bumps and blockades the business has faced over the years, Gomez said he remains thankful and gives all glory to God.

“It all comes back to God giving me that grace,” Gomez said.

Sison Tacos is located at 601 Franklin Ave. Store hours are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Tuesday to Friday.