TASTE OF THE TREASURE COAST
DIVING IN HEAD FIRST
Delicious fare, such as the shrimp taco on the left and steak taco on the right, are served with special sauces at the Taco Dives in Fort Pierce and Vero Beach.
64
Taco restaurant is not your
typical hole in the wall
BY PATTIE DURHAM
In 2007, two teachers/coaches traded their textbooks for
aprons to enter the chaotic culinary industry. Nearly
\ears after tKeir KeadÀrst diYe into restaurant
ownersKiS tKe two KaYe returned Kome to test tKeir
Kardearned sNills b\ oSening tKe KigKl\ SoSular 7aco 'iYe
'owntown )ort 3ierce and tKe newl\ oSened 7ace 'iYe
Downtown Vero Beach.
%onnie 7urN and $llison 2·&onnor wKo met as coacK and
player at Port St. Lucie High School, sought out a franchise
opening with the popular Hurricane’s Grill and Wings restaurant
group. They approached the owners of the restaurant
on South Beach to see if there were an opportunity to
buy a franchise.
“They looked at us,” O’Connor says, “and said, ‘Two
teacKers running a restaurant" 1o wa\. <ou won·t maNe it.·µ
'iscoYering tKat a francKise was oSen in -acNsonYille
tKe\ uSrooted tKemselYes from tKeir communit\ of famil\
and friends and took up the challenge.
´,t was Yer\ dicult at Àrstµ 2·&onnor sa\s. ´:e were
ED DRONDOSKI PHOTOS
liYing liNe a couSle of college students counting our coins
and worNing long Kours. 7Kere were a lot of dicult and
eSensiYe lessons to learn. %ut we surYiYed and tKe restaurant
tKriYed.µ
O’Connor and Turk sold the Hurricane’s franchise and
oSened a new Slace in -acNsonYille tKe 6auc\ 7aco.
$ couSle of \ears ago tKe\ decided to moYe bacN to tKe
)ort 3ierce area bringing witK tKem a faitKful emSlo\ee
Kelly Greiner, who is now one of four co-owners. The fourth
coowner is 2·&onnor·s cousin -oel 5ucNer. 7ogetKer tKe
four wKo range in age from tKe s to tKe s oͿer inSut on
serYing Sotential customers in tKeir resSectiYe age grouS.
7Kis giYes tKem a wellrounded aSSroacK to serYing SeoSle
from Yarious walNs of life.
,n )ebruar\ tKe four oSened 7aco 'iYe 'owntown
)ort 3ierce. 7outed as ´not \our aYerage Kole in tKe wallµ
tKe small eater\ Kas become Yer\ SoSular witK tKe downtown
luncK crowd and as a casual Slace to eat and KaYe a
drinN in tKe eYening. /ocated in a little striS of sKoSs on tKe >>