To stand out in a town with a plethora of taco options, one restaurant offers something different from the rest. Fuego Tortilla Grill provides 24-hour service, six days a week and can fulfill not only typical taco needs, but also provides queso, guacamole, nachos, breakfast tacos and even dessert for its customers.
Fuego has been serving the Bryan-College Station area since 2010, making 2017 it’s seventh year in business. The restaurant started out in College Station on Poplar Street, but has expanded to two other locations in Waco and San Marcos.
When picking the first location, operating owner and general manager Dave Girela and his two partners said they were looking at three potential areas to set up shop. Girela said they couldn’t help but love the location they picked in College Station.
“We’re so close to the university,” Girela said. “They told us the history of this location. It was just God-sent and a blessing. We said ‘You know what, this one’s going to be it.’ It’s an honor to serve the Bryan-College Station area. How we’ve been welcomed by the students, by the community, has just been an honor.”
Throughout the years, tacos have claimed a larger portion of College Station’s restaurant scene, but Girela said he believes Fuego has a few distinct features that continue to set them apart from the rest.
“We cook everything fresh
per order,” Girela said. “We have three cooks for three shifts because we’re open 24 hours a day. I believe our freshness is what [stands out] from everybody else. Our queso is probably our feature item and our Fuego Steak [taco] really stands out as well.”
Jillian Poe, International studies freshman, said she goes to Fuego at least three or four times a month.
Poe said her favorite thing Fuego offers is their breakfast tacos, but that’s not all that keeps bringing her back.
“It’s different,” Poe said. “The atmosphere, the food, it’s all really great. All of the employees are really nice and my food is always brought out pretty quick. It never tastes like it’s been sitting under a lamp all day.”
The freshness of the food is a commonly discussed factor in Fuego’s success. Employee James Roundtree, Class of 2017, credits the quality of the food to the cooks preparing it.
“The unsung heroes here are those people you see behind the grill,” Roundtree said. “They’ve literally got a grill in the front and behind and a rotisserie, all of which are over 350 degrees. So on game days and stuff they spend eight hours just going crazy serving up tacos. Whenever I walk through there I break a sweat, so I can only imagine what they’re going through all day.”
Regardless of the craziness that gathers on game days, Roundtree said his favorite memories working at Fuego come from the after-game rush, where tacos are enjoyed by Aggies and visiting fans alike.
“When they get to the register,
a lot of times they talk about
College Station and A&M and it’s a chance for me to see [the restaurant] from an outsider’sperspective what the experience is like here,” Roundtree said. “They come through and they say, ‘This place is amazing, College Station is great.’ They get to sit down here with our fans at Fuego and talk and share jokes and laugh. Before the rivalries start and the punches get thrown, everybody kind of gets to bond over good food and good conversation.”
Roundtree said working at Fuego, allows him to experiences every type of Aggie that makes up A&M. From the night-owls to the
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early risers, he said he sees a holistic representation of the university. No matter how many customers he sees, Roundtree said he will never forget one interaction with an Alabama fan after the Aggies took on the Tide in Kyle Field.
“I asked him about how his experience and he just looked right at me and said ‘This place is special. What you have here at A&M, the tacos at Fuego, the entire experience, you can’t find this anywhere else,’” Roundtree said.
Fuego Tortilla Grill offers B-CS plentiful portions, prime hours
By Bailey Noah