Margate's Wildly Popular Tacocat Suddenly Closes

How strange it was to read that the owners of Margate's Mexican takeout window eatery, Tacocat have closed the business, effective last Sunday.

As we passed the line snaking down the sidewalk for Tacocat over the weekend, my wife and I started talking about what a fantastic following the restaurant had.

There must have been 50 people waiting in that line. That wasn't unusual. There was always a line at Tacocat.

It appears from the early morning Facebook post from the owners, that success wasn't enough to overcome their "pure exhaustion".

Margate's Tacocat Announces Closing

Mike and Randi Talley, the owners of Tacocat, at the corner of 8 South Essex Avenue in Margate, dropped a real surprise in a Facebook post saying they needed a break and were closing their business.

Despite a record-breaking summer and extraordinary year-over-year growth since opening in Margate five years ago, Sunday was TacocaT’s last service.

Anyone who knows us personally and has become part of our TacocaT family will be surprised by this sudden decision. The truth is: We are as nearly surprised as all of you.
But a combination of factors that include inadequate staffing that is impossible to replace and train in the middle of summer, an expiring lease and pure exhaustion are all part of this decision. And trust us when we tell you we aren’t taking this decision lightly.

How Tacocat Began

Before opening in Margate, the couple started with a space in Linwood's Exchange food court -- now office space for AtlantiCare. The couple waxed poetic about their journey on Facebook...

Along the way we served tens of thousands of tacos, burritos, nachos, tuna poke, cheesesteak eggrolls, Brussels Sprouts and our famous wings, which even took home some hardware at the annual Atlantic City Wing Fest.

What's Next for Tacocat?

For the time being, it sounds like the couple plans to catch their breath from Tacocat, but they plan to keep their food truck business, "Kitty Cat" operating, serving tacos and Cali-Mexican food at parties and festivals.

You can text Mike and Randi at 609.612.9900 if you would like to have Kitty Cat at your next good time or go to TacoCatsouthjersey.com.

One more thing. The decision to close Tacocat has left some of their hard-working help out of a job. Text the couple if you are interested in hiring any of them