Taco Amigo

Capital expenditure: $330,000
Expected job creation: 13

Joe Woolfolk of Waukesha had a vision of opening a Spanish-themed restaurant that offers Latin American and European Spanish cuisine in addition to the standard Mexican cuisine. Being raised in a family of restaurateurs, running a restaurant has always been his goal.

Although he spent a year searching for the ideal location, developing a business plan and forming financial projections, in fall 2018 an opportunity fell into his lap.

His uncle, who owns several Spanish family restaurants in the area, was looking to sell one of them. Joe leaped at the chance and purchased Taco Amigo, an existing restaurant in Waukesha, in October of 2018.

Once Joe made his decision to purchase Taco Amigo, the Waukesha County Center for Growth helped him realize his dream. The process of purchasing a business is involved, and the Center for Growth helped Joe develop a business plan, perform market research, build out revenue models and financial projections, meet commercial lenders, conduct site searches and more.

Although Joe no longer needed to build a restaurant from the ground up, he had work to do to make it his own and plan for the future success of the restaurant. Joe is in the process of rebranding the space to fit his own vision. He wants to maintain the turn-of-the-century Spanish culture and tradition while utilizing modern ordering systems and the latest technology.

“The staff at the Waukesha County Center for Growth are my true business advisors,” said Joe. “I’ve wanted to own my own restaurant for years, and because of their help, I’ve finally achieved my dream. I will definitely continue to take advantage of these resources in the future.”