Our taco truck began as a side hustle.

When I first met my now-husband, Alex Vargas, he was famous for his tailgate tacos, which he’d make for friends using a propane camp grill after a day of whitewater paddling. We’d been dating for about a year when one of those friends offered Alex an old tow-behind trailer, suggesting he convert it into a taco truck. Alex had the DIY skills, and I was up for the adventure, so in 2019, we opened Tacoee on the Ocoee River.

We both had full-time jobs — I was a writer; Alex was a builder — so the plan was to operate only on summer weekends.

But the commitment quickly escalated.

Parked at a raft outfitter alongside a high-traffic stretch of Highway 64, we were slammed from the moment we first opened our window.

In