Exploring Life & Business with Chef Jose “David” Peraza-Arce of 13 Tacos & Taps

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chef Jose “David” Peraza-Arce.

Hi Chef Jose “David”, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was born in Mexico City, raised in the Yucatan. At an early age, my family moved to the US. I started in restaurants early in life and worked my way up. I owned and operated a restaurant/nightclub in Delray Beach, Florida with my wife, Marilyn, where my restaurant was voted best Mexican Food in both Palm Beach and Broward County in the New Times “Best of” Series. Due to family issues, I closed the restaurant and moved my family to North Carolina to be close to my mother and siblings. I helped open many restaurants in the area, including Mez, Gonza Tacos & Tequila, Cantina South, and more. In 2016, my wife and I opened our food truck, The 13th Taco. In 2018, we began looking for a brick & mortar and happened upon the old Chubby’s restaurant in the Falls River area of North Raleigh. By 2019, we were opened for business as 13 Tacos & Taps.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s been a bit of a challenge because we are off the beaten path, tucked in the back part of the Falls River Town Center where there is not a lot of “foot” traffic as well as limited automobile traffic. We knew we would have to go above and beyond to get people to find us. We are passionate about what we do, offering the best product we can possible provide: Filet Mignon for our beef tacos, for instance; and our own mixes for our specialty cocktail drinks – including the Margarita mix; and an incredible dining experience. Covid 19 also put an obstacle (or two) in our way, and it has been a struggle to say the least, but our loyal customers have helped keep us afloat through this challenging time and we are so grateful to them for their support.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about 13 Tacos & Taps?
We specialize in Fusion Tacos as well as traditional dishes. The fusion tacos start with traditional recipes, but then I put a twist on most of them creating the fusion. For example, I offer a beef taco dish, called El Massaman, which is slow-braised certified angus beef, cooked to perfection, as it would be cooked in Mexico – but then I create the fusion by adding a Curry Tatemada Salsa with baby gold potatoes, or our southern fusion of Chicken & Waffles in a taco! My motto is, and always has been, “everything fits in my tortilla.” Our 13th Taco is a rotating taco, and it is always a traditional taco, Lamb Barbacoa, or maybe Cabeza or Octopus… the tacos you find on the streets of Mexico! My tacos are always the freshest you can possibly get them, regardless of whether you are eating at the restaurant or from our food truck!

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
I follow my passion, keep it fresh with high-quality ingredients providing layers of delicious flavors to offer a taste tantalizing dining experience with consistency.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.13TacosandTaps.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/13tacosandtaps/