New owner takes the lead at The Killer Taco food truck

The Killer Taco has only been part of the downtown Georgetown food scene for 10 months, but — with a 4.9 star rating on Google and buzz on social media — the food truck has established itself as a go-to for visitors and workers around the Square.

Twenty-year-old Dylan Grazioplene took over ownership of the food truck at 403 West Seventh Street one month ago, and has worked to maintain that prestigious Google rating.

“I’ve been cooking since I could reach the grill or the stove top — since I was like 10,” Mr. Grazioplene said. “I love it. Cooking is what I do. It has been a dream of mine to own a food truck for years.”

The truck’s original owners were Mr. Grazioplene’s family friends. He purchased the business using money he earned from a window-cleaning business he used to run. His father, who owns the Trojan Horse Forge cutlery store behind the truck, also contributed.

Mr. Grazioplene said the last month has gone well, but his biggest challenge has been balancing inventory.

“The tacos sell differently every week. There’s no amount of [inventory] notes you can take, because it’s unknown,” he ex- plained.

The brisket taco is the truck’s top seller, and he said half of customers will usually order it. It comes on a toasted tortilla with fried cheese, coleslaw, chipotle ranch, pico and mashed potato. He sources his meat from Jim- my Vega’s Smokehouse and gets handmade tortillas from the bakery at H-E-B.

“When you’re doing Tex-Mex, it’s pretty hard because it's easy to mess up. But what we do differently at this truck is focus on the ingredients,” Mr. Grazioplene said. “A lot of people ask about what we use, and I use top-of-the-line ingredients everywhere, even if it cuts into my profits.”

Other permanent menu options include pulled pork, pork belly, chicken and carne asada. There is also an array of seafood tacos and tostadas — including lobster, shrimp and Ahi tuna.

The Killer Taco also has rotating taco specials. The last special was an alligator tail taco, which Mr. Grazioplene said, “tasted like chicken.”

The Killer Taco serves around 200 customers on an average weekend day. Being near the Square helps them receive foot traffic naturally. Customers often find out about the business through social media like Facebook ads and on TikTok, where a video highlighting the food truck has earned more than 1 million views.

The Killer Taco is located at 403 West Seventh Street and is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.