Calle Tepa recalls grandmother’s Mexican heritage

Jordan Fuller knew he was taking a chance when he opened Calle Tepa Mexican Street Grill 10 years ago.

The journey has been a rollercoaster ride, but Fuller stuck to his mission of serving quality food and drinks in the festive restaurant.

“We just said the best thing we can do is create the best product and have the best service and then we have a chance to grab hold of the community,” Fuller said.

“The first few years were fun and interesting because we were just trying to do all the things we could. We had people outside with signs. We were delivering samples to businesses and residences around the neighborhood.”

Around year five, Fuller started to see traction. Regulars were recognizable and he felt like he was becoming part of the community.

“I felt like, ‘OK. We’ve made it over a hump,’” he said. “The next five years, we expanded the restaurants and added items to our menu. Once we knew we had something that was working, we started to add drinks to our bar.”

Then, the pandemic hit, but Fuller swore to make it work. Every restaurant struggled, and Calle Tepa was no different. It survived and now it’s celebrating its first decade on Wednesday, March 29, with specials and giveaways all day.

“It’s going to be a really fun thing,” Fuller said. “We’re trying to come up with a fun way to celebrate so every group who comes in here will have fun. We’re going to have birthday cake, too.”

Popular items

The myriad tacos are the No. 1 seller at Calle Tepa. They come in vegetarian varieties, as well as shrimp, mahi, carne asada, chicken asada, chicken adobada, barbacoa, carnitas and chorizo.

“We have street tacos with onion and cilantro,” he said. “We do our Tepa-style tacos, with lettuce, pico and queso fresco. We’re really known for our fresh-made dishes like tamales. We make all of our tamales in house. We do a chili pork tamale with enchilada sauce and green corn tamale with spinach sauce.”

The from-scratch soups are a hit as well, Fuller said. Pozole and chicken tortilla soup ($5.99/cup; $10.99/bowl) are sold year-round. Handmade tortillas are Calle Tepa’s forte.

“That’s pretty rare because it’s so much extra work,” he said.

“But it really adds to the flavor — and it really does make a dish taste better.”

The handmade tortillas go well with the popular fajitas — chicken ($17.99), steak ($18.99), surf and turf ($18.49), six jumbo shrimp ($18.99).

Another top seller is the Sonoran dog — beef hot dog wrapped with bacon in a toasted bun, ranchero beans, pico, mayo and mustard ($9.99).

“I think it stands with any of the other dogs in Arizona,” Fuller said. “It’s definitely a big hit. It’s delicious. So, we have a lot of really good dishes that people come for.

“It’s just a spectrum of delicious items that people enjoy.”

Recently, it added breakfast with options of chilaquiles, huevos rancheros, huevos montados, burrito, torta, tacos, quesadilla and enchiladas.

Calle Tepa was named after the vibrant town in which Fuller’s grandmother lives. Fuller described it as lively, having delicious food on every corner.

“We wanted to create an homage to her and draw on those roots of where she’s from, and from the food that she grew up with,” he said.

By design, the restaurant resembles his grandmother’s street, with the brick walls that are adorned with artwork of windows and doors. The kitchen is open, but wrapped in stainless steel to look like a food truck.

“We wanted to give that feeling that you’re in something vibrant and special and different,” Fuller said.

“When you eat at a taco area in Mexico, they have the menu painted on the walls at times. Here, it’s on the wall. We thought it was such a cool idea. It’s so immediate. It just feels so real.”

Teamwork pays off

Fuller is pleased with the staff who has accompanied his 10-year journey.

“People have come and gone but they’ve all helped to make this a special place,” he said. “During COVID, we had to come together as a team to try to get through that.

“We had really good support from our customers, too. We’re lucky. We have food that we could convert to takeout pretty easily. So, we leaned into that right away. We came up with this system to make food more accessible and quick for customers.”

During the pandemic, Calle Tepa also added a patio, complete with heaters. Fuller called it a “big extra move for us.”

“We have our full-service patio now, which we tried to make really cozy,” he added. “We have heaters. We have the shade. We have projectors out here so guests can catch a game and be outside. It’s dog friendly, so people can bring the dog and spend time outside. It’s a really great spot for this restaurant. Some things that have come out of COVID have helped us moving forward. The patio was a good deal for us.

“Coming out of COVID, the goal now is to be as strong as we’ve ever been. We have recognition in town and with the customers. It’s perfect.”

Calle Tepa

6151 E. Broadway Boulevard, Tucson

520-777-5962, calletepa.com

This article appears in Mar 23-29, 2023.