Fresh Flavors With Island Vibes

By SAMANTHA MARSHALL | Photos by DANE STEPHENSON

Kevin Dunford wasn’t planning to buy a business when he grabbed dinner at Taco Casa one night in December 2021. But once he saw a sign on the door that said the business would close by the end of the year unless it was sold, he found himself signing on the dotted line.

“I didn’t want to see a business close,” Dunford said. “I really didn’t even have a plan. I just saw it was available and purchased it.”

Unable to keep the Taco Casa name, Dunford centered his new concept around the beach bar he always wanted in Topeka. Tiki Taco Shack opened one month later with a fresh, island-inspired look and an enhanced Tex-Mex menu.

The restaurant brought in a nearly 40% profit increase within the first six months. Less than five years later, Dunford is knee-deep in his next venture: turning the business into a franchise.

A TASTE FOR BUSINESS

Dunford’s business education began as a teen working in his grandfather’s mechanic shop, which he later took over. Since then, he’s bought and sold 12 businesses.

Dunford is the owner of Jayhawk Body Shop and a co-owner of both Pizagel’s Pizza and Bakery and Paisano’s Ristorante. Unlike Pizagel’s and Paisano’s, where Dunford and his partner changed little after purchasing the businesses, Dunford said Tiki Taco Shack feels like it’s truly his own. But that wasn’t exactly the original plan.

“People worried we were going to change the recipes,” he said. “I went into it saying I wasn’t going to change anything, but I also don’t like the typical bland-style tacos.”

Dunford, who does a lot of the cooking himself, added more flavors to the recipes. Not all of the changes were an overnight success. Their signature Tiki Taco with pineapple and jalapeños was initially a hard sell to Topeka customers.

“I had to give them away for quite a while,” Dunford said. “But once they try it, people are like, ‘Oh, that’s good.’”

Dunford said the restaurant’s tropical atmosphere inspires customers to channel their inner tourist and try something new.

“When I’m home, I eat the same thing at a place over and over and over,” he said. “But when I’m in a new place, I’m going to try something different. It’s just human nature.”

THE MAKING OF A FRANCHISE

In the summer of 2023, Dunford got a call from a Florida company asking if he wanted to expand Tiki Taco Shack into a franchise. He was immediately interested.

Dunford had originally considered franchising the business himself after it proved to be a success, but he put the idea on the backburner when he realized how long the process might take. Now, he had enough help that a four-month turnaround seemed realistic.

Dunford said Tiki Taco Shack’s simplicity makes it an ideal candidate for a franchise. Compared to his other restaurants, the menu has fewer items and the food is relatively uncomplicated. Those elements make consistency — a key part of the franchise model — easier to achieve.

One of the first steps in starting a franchise is to outline every aspect of running a Tiki Taco Shack, including the equipment list, food ingredients and training.

“You’re training someone who has never owned a business in their life,” Dunford said.

But first, Dunford wanted to create a new logo and make a few more changes to the menu.

“It kicked me into overdrive to make the brand go further,” he said. “You want to appeal to the many you hope will want to join your business in different areas of the country.”

A RECIPE FOR CONSISTENCY

Now that the Tiki Taco Shack franchise is in full swing, even minor changes — like adding a new menu item — are complex.

“Something that seems simple off hand isn’t always simple in a franchise model,” Dunford said.

The biggest challenge his franchise faces is ensuring that Tiki Taco Shack tastes the same in Topeka as it does in, say, New Jersey. Dunford once had to investigate why the restaurant’s meat suddenly tasted different. The culprit? Using the wrong brand of tomato puree.

“That small change drastically changed our flavor,” Dunford said. “We’ve got a certain taste, and we want it to be the same every time. When you’re looking at what products are available in different parts of the country, the biggest stress is to make sure it’s all the same.”

Dunford wants every Tiki Taco Shack to share the same island-time ambience.

“It’s all about the vibe. That’s what I want to spread around,” Dunford said. “People can go in, have a taco or margarita and chill out for a little while.”

Twelve people from Maryland to Hawaii are currently working to become Tiki Taco Shack franchise owners. Dunford’s goal is for at least six of them to complete the process this year, and said one of the greatest rewards is to see other entrepreneurs grow.

“I’m helping other like-minded people build their life and be successful,” Dunford said. “As a business owner, my partner and I try to do that, but it’s tougher with restaurant employees. On the franchise side, you’re working with someone already in that mode.”

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Dunford said that Topeka business owners need to be clear about their goals when taking their business nationwide.

“You have to be goal oriented,” he said. “If you want to work 40 hours a week and have a management team do the rest, that’s easily obtainable. But then there’s the path where you do most of the work yourself and make more money. There are different avenues to take.”

Even though he’s on the clock 24/7, Dunford said Tiki Taco Shack has helped him spend more time with his family. The restaurant is a family enterprise: from Dunford’s kids, who each work shifts, to his ex-wife’s new husband, who is an operations manager.

“My dream has always been for my family to be involved in business,” said Dunford, recalling the lessons he learned from his grandfather back in the mechanic shop. “We’re making it a whole family unit.”

Despite the ruthless hours of the restaurant business, he doesn’t mind putting in the sweat to get a meaningful return on investment.

“There’s nothing better than taking a business that’s about to go out, then flipping it around,” Dunford said. “When it takes off, there’s not a better feeling as far as successes go.”

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