P. Terry’s has served Austin burgers since 2005, but they want to venture out of their usual fare — by serving tacos.

The owners of P. Terry’s Burger Stand will open their second Taco Ranch location on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard this summer, where the Taco Cabana was formerly located. Co-owner Patrick Terry said they are looking for a new challenge and hope to bring their secret weapon to the taco market — high-quality ingredients. 

“We’re unique in the sense that the niche we picked is not out there right now,” Terry said. “Thirty years ago, it used to be where you could go through a taco stand and get high-quality decent food, but over the course of time, they cut costs and are doing generic things and they have harmed themselves.”

The Taco Ranch staff do everything in-house, Terry said, from soaking their beans overnight to making their own guacamole. This dedication to high-grade ingredients drew a number of Austinites to Taco Ranch’s Oak Hill location on its Jan. 24 opening day, resulting in a sell-out by 3:00 p.m, Terry said.  

“We were shocked, to tell you the truth,” Terry said. “The idea that all these people would come to try out a new concept of ours was really special and meant a lot to us, but we didn’t expect it.”

Terry said opening Taco Ranch so close to campus is special since he graduated from UT in 1980. 

“When I was at UT, the Chick-fil-A was Mr. Gatti’s and Raising Cane’s was Wendy’s,” Terry said.  “I used to live down the street, just about three blocks from that (former) Taco Cabana, so this is all kind of surreal.”

Psychology junior Kelly Rice is happy to see this local fare go in Taco Cabana’s place. 

“The prices look reasonable, especially for a local restaurant, and as a vegetarian, I appreciate that the veggie crumble is an option for most of the menu items,” Rice said. 

Marketing junior Carly O’Gorman said food around West Campus gets old, so having new food choices will help with getting bored. 

“One thing I miss from back home was this tiny shack that sold the best breakfast tacos,” O’Gorman said.  “I’m really excited to be close to somewhere that sells breakfast tacos through a drive-through, so whether I’m late to class or on my way, I can reward myself with some breakfast tacos.”