Our Story

Chef Pat and restaurateur Mark Williams have teamed up to bring a bit of authentic Mexican cuisine to our small city of Rutland, VT.

It all started with a question…

“How about a taqueria and tequila bar?”

2023

Started In Rutland

Providing lunch and dinner daily, as well as serving food until 10pm on Friday & Saturday evenings to bring an authentic vibe to downtown Rutland. We will strive to provide the freshest and best quality food and drinks with ingredients that are never frozen.

About

Who We Are

Born and raised in Vermont, Mark Williams learned an appreciation for international business and travel in his late teens and 20’s when he graduated from Castleton University with a BA in Español Para Negocios (Spanish for Business) and continued his education at the Vina Del Mar in Chile and traveled and lived extensively across Europe and Mexico.

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Upon his return to the Okemo Valley, Mark’s business interests focused on becoming a restaurateur, learning the food-service business from the ground up. His determination and hard work paid off and in 2021, he became the successful owner of Mr. Darcy’s Bar & Burger, Sam’s Steakhouse, and The Chophouse in Ludlow, VT, and Modern Cleaners (dry-cleaning) in Rutland, VT. Currently he also co-owns Southside Steakhouse in Rutland, VT and manages The Champlain Valley Dinner Train in Burlington, VT.

Pat Norton is a Rutland boy, and has been living in the area most of his life. He remembers walking downtown to the Paramount Theatre with the neighborhood gang to watch Godzilla movies on the big screen. His grandfather, Charlie, had his paint store next to the Chinese restaurant downtown.

Having a restaurant in Downtown Rutland was definitely not something he had ever dreamed of doing! His career in the restaurant business started at South Station, working for Wally Sabotka. From there, things took off, working at various successful restaurants in the area, including Equinox (Manchester, VT), head chef and later chef/co-owner at Sam’s Steakhouse (Ludlow, VT). Today he is the chef/co-owner at Southside Steakhouse in Rutland. Taco Fresco is certainly an endeavor outside of his comfort zone, without the steakhouse atmosphere he is used to, but he has always considered himself a chef who truly loves to cook food for people. He is extremely passionate about many other ethnic cuisines, the flavors, the smell, and most of all, the process and execution of the final dish. Pat treats food with respect and love and will bring that dedication to Taco Fresco every day.

Our Work

What We Do

Our team shares our passion and excitement, providing quick, friendly, and professional service.

Keeping to our commitment of using high-quality, fresh ingredients, we are serving tacos, burritos, guacamole, salads, quesadillas, Mexican sandwiches, and more. Our menu consists of simple, delicious Mexican & American fare cooked with flavor and passion!

Our tequila bar is a great place to relax before a show with a frozen margarita, specialty cocktail, sangria, beer or glass of wine. Mirroring the fresh qualities you’ll find in our food, our cocktails a handcrafted with care!