New York Taco moved in next to the Shell gas station on W. Carleton Road.
New York Taco’s drive-thru is open every day until 10 p.m. Their large menu includes tacos, burritos, nachos, and vegetarian options.
Above a black-and-white-checkered counter, a 10-screen menu offers a variety of Mexican food in individual orders, combos, and family meals. The restaurant offers free additions like onion or guacamole to meals as well.
“I made sure that we would have very low prices,” owner David Karim said. “The common guy will be able to come to eat and be full. He doesn’t have to struggle to come up with a huge amount of money.”
David and Fibi Karim own both the restaurant and the neighboring gas station, so customers are able to purchase the gas station’s snacks and drinks at New York Taco’s drive-thru.
“You can feed a whole family for $15,” owner David Karim said. “We make sure our tacos are heavy and have a lot of meat. We stuff the taco with meat, lettuce, cheese, and sour cream.”
The average wait for a typical order at New York Taco is 5 to 7 minutes.
“Everything is fresh; everything is real,” Fibi said. “I’m excited for Hillsdale to have this kind of food because our customers appreciate it.”
The menu includes a make-your-own bowl and burrito options to compare to chain restaurant menus.
“We love going to Chipotle and Qdoba,” Fibi said. “So we said, why don’t we introduce something like this to Hillsdale?”
Sophomore Kalli Dalrymple went to New York Taco for the first time last week with friends. Karim took their order at the drive-thru, gave them his phone number, and asked them to let him know how they enjoyed the food or if they had any questions
“He was really nice,” Dalrymple said. “I think the churros were my favorite. It was good, especially for the price.”
While a grand opening has not been scheduled, David said he plans to have a soft opening to ensure all employees are comfortable making everything on the menu. Once he deems their work excellent, there will be a grand opening.
“Your food safety is number one,” David said.
David said he wants anyone who comes into the restaurant hungry to leave full, no matter how much money they have. For him, that includes feeding his employees.
“The food is for all,” David said. “I want people to leave here not feeling hungry, smelling the food and not being able to eat it. We treat our employees like they’re our own kids.”
David said he plans to eventually expand New York Taco into Jackson and Coldwater.
“This is a blessing from God,” David said.
“I want to carry blessings throughout my life. I believe everything we have for us is because God opened the door for us. We come from a different country, but we’re able to survive and be able to stand on our own. So we’ll help anyone, and we’ll feed anybody.”
