Local girl spices up the
Village with Wapo Taco
by Mary Ellen Gambon - RVMS Promotions Committee

Walk into Wapo Taco, and be prepared for a fiesta. The fun atmosphere is displayed in the restaurant's decorations. Hot pepper lights encircle the window, leading one's eyes upward to the vibrant fluorescent donkey and parrot pinatas. Signs shaped like hot peppers line the bright orange walls, announcing the specials. Shiny gold signs on the tables ask the ultimate question: "What's life without nachos?"

Wapo Taco, located at 37 Poplar St., has quickly become a village favorite. Although it serves food quickly, it should not be confused with a generic fast food restaurant. Signs near the menu stating "No Pizza" and "No Subs" make the distinction clear.

Lifelong Roslindale resident Dianne (Libby) Duarte recently celebrated the restaurant's third anniversary. She is partners with Lorenzo Cerda, a Texas native who lives in Norwood.

"This is my first time running a restaurant and food business," she said. "I always loved tacos, and there was no place around here to get them. When I first opened, so many people around here didn't even know what tacos were, but it's really caught on."

Practically everything on the menu is prepared in the restaurant, including the salsa and the tortillas.

"We make just about everything right here," said Duarte. "The food is very fresh and very good. We use good quality meat."

She added that the restaurant will shortly be expanding its already copious menu for the summer. Duarte also recently added veggie wraps and salads, which have been selling well.

Wapo Taco also caters small events and parties. It recently catered a Roslindale Board of Trade function.
"It's hard because there's just the two of us here, but we like doing it," said Duarte. "Sometimes people call ahead and order nachos or jalapeno poppers for parties and pick them up themselves."

The restaurant has quickly become popular with people of all ages. After school, students can snack on a taco while elderly shoppers try their first fajita, burrito or quesadilla.

Its popularity is evidenced in Wapo Taco's winning the "#1 Local Restaurant Award" from the Parkway Transcript two years in a row. In December, Wapo Taco was recommended in the "Cheap Eats" column in the Boston Globe's Calendar section.

Despite its popularity, one of Duarte's aims is to insure that prices always remain reasonable.

"Our regular beef tacos and slush are a dollar, because that's how much kids can afford to pay," she said. "You can't even get a slice of pizza for a dollar any more. Our food is fresh, served in good-sized portions at good prices."