Tight Tacos is a small chain of Mexican restaurants based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Established in 2016, the business has also operated in Hawaii. Tight Tacos has garnered a positive reception.
The restaurant chain and catering company[1][2] Tight Tacos operates in the U.S. states of Oregon and Hawaii. In addition to tacos,[3] the business serves nachos with cheese, guacamole, jalapenos, and salsa fresca,[4] as well as burritos.[5][6] Meatless fillings include adobo-marinated cauliflower and soy chorizo.[7] The Hellaburrito—stylized as Hella(bur)Rito—has cream, French fries, nacho cheese, and onions.[8] Drink options include micheladas made with hard seltzers (Truly, White Claw), as well as agua fresca, horchata, and sodas.[4]
Co-owner Mark Cosio launched Tight Tacos with his brother-in-law Reggie Ballesteros in 2016.[9][10] Annamarie Cosio has also been credited as a co-owner.[11]
By 2019, the business operated four food carts. Tight Tacos's first brick and mortar restaurant opened in The Zipper in Portland in September 2019.[4][12][13] In early 2020, Tight Tacos began operating in the kitchen of Thirsty Monk in southeast Portland.[14][15] The business operated via delivery and take-out at times during the COVID-19 pandemic.[16]
Tight Tacos has also operated on Division Street in southeast Portland's Richmond neighborhood,[7] and in Maui and Oahu.[1][17][18][19] The Portland food cart in a southeast Portland parking lot hosted the breakfast burrito pop-up Kooks Burritos.[20][21]
Tight Tacos's Hellarito was included in the Daily Hive's 2021 list of the fifteen best eateries in Portland.[22] Michael Russell included the business in The Oregonian's list of Portland's best new food carts of the past decade.[23] Waz Wu recommended Tight Tacos in Eater Portland's 2023 overview of the city's vegan tacos.[7]
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Willamette Week's Matthew Singer included Tight Tacos in a list of twenty "awesome meals for takeout and delivery in Portland right now".[8] The business was a runner-up in the Best Taco category of the newspaper's annual 'Best of Portland' readers' poll in 2022,[24] and ranked second in the Best Catering Service category in the same poll in 2024.[25]
Not only did this popular California-style taco cart open a pair of brick-and-mortar locations, one on Southeast Division Street, the other in The Zipper complex on Northeast Sandy Boulevard, but original owner Reggie Balasteros has also opened a restaurant on Maui, with a second coming to Oahu this year.
