The key to Manchester’s Taco Tour is to have a strategy.
Get there early, said Cole Riel, member engagement coordinator for the Greater Manchester Chamber, because some of the places will sell out.
“I’ve said in the past, it’s like when you go to Disney World,” he said, only in this case it’s not about mapping out which rides to take but “what tacos you’re going to get.”
Some groups split up and head to different locales, ordering enough tacos for everyone in their party. That way, each person doesn’t have to stand in every line, Riel said.
“There is definitely a strategy to it,” he said. “You have to try your best to win the Taco Tour.”
This year’s Taco Tour takes place on Thursday, May 5 — Cinco de Mayo — from 4 to 8 p.m.
Up to 30,000 people are expected to attend the event, the first since 2019 after a pandemic shutdown.
More than 70 restaurants and businesses will be offering tacos at $3 each. Cash is required.
Elm Street will be closed between Bridge and Granite streets, as will portions of Hanover and Lowell streets.
The Greater Manchester Chamber, in collaboration with the city’s Economic Development Department, took the lead from Intown, the disbanded nonprofit that hosted the popular event in 2019. The Hippo Press started the event in 2011 to bring attention to Manchester’s downtown.
Though some businesses have reported foot traffic being down during the day with offices closing or employees working from home, hundreds of new apartments are being built in vacant commercial space, which has shifted the demand for more nighttime offerings.
“We are getting more retail,” Riel said. “We are getting more restaurants. It’s just not all during that noon-to-four time-frame, which people were used to.”
The event will reintroduce many of the businesses to customers and highlight new offerings.
The Industry East Bar on Hanover Street wasn’t open in 2019 during the last bash. The bar, known for its craft cocktails, opened in January 2021.
Industry East plans to sell at least 1,000 of its twice-loaded baked potato taco, which was created just for the event. The bar’s menu typically has at least one taco, said owner Jeremy Hart.
“Even if we serve half of those tacos, it’s 500 people who now know that we are here,” Hart said.
Nearby, Beeze Tees is selling official merchandise, including hats, T-shirts and goofy stickers, all featuring tacos, of course. Maps of participating vendors can be picked up there on the day of the event.
Fare this year includes BluAqua Restrobar’s NOLA taco with alligator, andouille and dirty rice, and Presto Pasta’s Meatball Parm taco with a garlic bread tortilla, ricotta crema and pesto-parmesan crunch. Wild Orchid Bakery, a new bakery on Elm Street, will offer a Vegan Drunken Pineapple Upside Down Taco.
One of the newest businesses downtown, Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream, will serve up an ice cream taco made out of waffle cones. The store officially opened last Monday.
“We’ll take our typical waffle bowl, and we’ll make it into a taco shell instead, and we’ll put two scoops of probably vanilla or chocolate ice cream on it,” said Rita McCabe, franchise owner. Some of the toppings will include chocolate, peanut butter or marshmallow.
On a regular day, Sub Zero customizes all orders, with the ice cream being made right in front of the customer. For the Taco Tour, though, some of the ice cream will need to be made in advance as they plan to sell at least 1,000.
“We are still going to have to make the vanilla or chocolate as people come in as we run out,” McCabe said. “They are still going to get to see the process.”
The ice cream shop shares space with Prime Time Grilled Cheese, which will be offering a Grilled Cheese Taco. “We are super excited about the timing,” McCabe said.
The Currier Museum of Art, To Share Brewing Company and New Hampshire Fisher Cats also will have vendors.
The event includes voting for the best taco. This year it will be determined by popular vote as opposed to judges, which have been used in the past.
Riel hopes the Taco Tour will spark more interest in downtown, including Fisher Cats games and events at the Palace Theatre and SNHU Arena.
For more information go to tacotourmanchester.com.