Tai: He very easily became an idol I looked up
to and tried to emulate. Some restaurateurs
are so secretive and don’t want to share a lot
of information, where Peter was really open
about it…I’ll never forget that, how he helped
me out.
The important thing is, he has a great, loyal
following. I want to make sure we take care of
their needs first…That’s my top priority.
Peter: We opened up [Mad Taco] right
around May 1, and the inspiration for it was
the food truck…Three of the tacos on Mad
Taco’s menu are the tacos I served on the food
truck.
As soon as I sold Tai the food truck [laughter]…
[to Tai] I’ve got my house coming up for sale
soon…You’ll be getting a phone call…
Tai: Your house in Bryan? It’s a great house!
Peter: [laughing] I’m kidding…
...After I sold the truck to Tai, I started asking
my followers via Twitter…about a stand-alone
taco shop here in town and they were all
excited about it.
Tara and I had already decided Mad Taco
would be the name…but 70 to 90 percent of
my followers came back with the name Mad
Taco without me mentioning it.
I wanted something that wasn’t defined necessarily by me being there…I like it now that
people come in and think it’s a chain...
I’m now in my late 40s. When I think about
where I want to be in 10 years, it’s not in the
back of Madden’s peeling potatoes. We would
like to open more [Mad Tacos] on our own.
Texas is a huge market. I could easily grow
only in Texas and have 100 stores. Proximity
will be important in the beginning. A second
location here in town is likely…Houston,
Austin…after that, who knows?
AG: What will it be like for both of you a
year from now?
Tai: Peter and Tara are always going be part of
[Madden’s].
Peter: Tai wants it to be Madden’s. That’s
my role, to keep him on that path. I’ll be the
consultant. So it will always feel like Madden’s.
That’s what Tai wants.
Tai: We are up to it, to give this place a longterm lease on life. Peter didn’t want to see it
dwindle; it was his baby, too.
Peter: [To Tai] I am really excited about the
transition. There is no one better to run
Madden’s than you. I’m excited for you. I’m
excited for me. I’m excited for the future of
Madden’s, Veritas, everything that you’ve got
going and everything I’ve got going on. Thank
you for the opportunity. I hope you take
advantage of it, as well.
Tai: Thank you so much Peter. We’ll do the
best.i
8
INSITE January 2016