“I wanted to get into the restaurant biz because I love food and people,” McGowan said. “I’ve always been the guy who goes into restaurants and questions why they don’t do things a certain way and how things can be better.”
He said he soon realized why restaurants do things a certain way and why they are not perfect.
“It doesn’t mean that I couldn’t try to be better, and I think in a lot of areas we are,” he said.
Prior to opening the eatery, McGowan was in sales, and he also ran a supper club. He said most of his culinary experience is through trial and error, research, and “having fun.”
“Cooking is about learning flavors,” he said. “Once you learn how they come together [and] what goes with what, from there the possibilities are endless. The main reason I decided to do tacos is you can put anything in a tortilla and call it a taco.”
McGowan said approximately 80% of his restaurant’s customers are repeat diners, including a group who come in every Wednesday night.
“We have a secret menu, and there are currently three items on the menu that were created by guys in that group who asked me to do something different,” he said.
With a year of restaurant ownership behind him, he said he severely underrated how hard owning a taco eatery would be.
“Last week, I was a dishwasher, server, line cook, bartender and manager,” he said. “It’s hard to find staff, and it’s important for me to not stress my staff.”
McGowan said his favorite thing about owning this business is visiting with customers.
“It gives me the warm fuzzies to hear people talk about how much they love something I created,” he said. “It’s the ultimate sense of satisfaction.”
Chído Taco Lounge
6959 Lebanon Road, Ste. 123, Frisco
469-200-5715 | www.chidodfw.com
Hours: Tue.-Thu. 11 a.m.-10 p.m.,
Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-midnight,
Sun. 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Mon. closed
