One day after attending their children’s soccer games at Moss Field, Lake Highlands residents Andrew and Amy Savoie found themselves hankering for breakfast tacos. Andrew said there was not anywhere nearby to satisfy this craving at that time.

“Lake Highlands was a food desert at the time,” Andrew said. “My wife looked at me and said, ‘Why don’t you open one?’ And I said, ‘Let’s do it.’”

On Oct. 8, 2015, the couple opened Resident Taqueria in the Lake Highlands Plaza Shopping Center.

After graduating from Baltimore International College in 1997 with an associate degree in culinary arts, Andrew embarked on a 25-year restaurant career. He worked as a chef in numerous five-star restaurants nationwide then taught culinary arts at the Art Institute of Dallas.

Andrew said he blended knowledge gleaned from work experiences and formal education to create a business plan for a breakfast taco place.


“I did a lot of research and found breakfast wasn’t going to cut it alone,” he said. “I switched my plan and [included] lunch and dinner.”

Andrew said eventually, due to labor shortages, he had to replace breakfast tacos with breakfast sandwiches and avocado toast, both of which cost $5.

Andrew also used his background to help create the menu.

“I wanted to take what I learned about finesse, flavors and textures and put it into a tortilla,” he said. “A tortilla resembles what I feel is a plate; that’s all it is, a vehicle for eating flavors.”


He points to the $4 cauliflower taco as an example of its nontraditional taqueria fare.

“I’m using Latin cuisine as a whole and improvising all regional and global flavors to be put into a tortilla,” Andrew said.

When Andrew and Amy were coming up with a business name, they wanted a name with neighborhood ties.

“We’re doing it for the residents of Lake Highlands,” he said.


Resident Taqueria

9661 Audelia Road, Ste. 112, Dallas

www.residenttaqueria.com

972-685-5280


Hours: Tue.-Sat. 8:30 a.m.-9 p.m., closed Sun.-Mon.