The newest addition to dining options, Inked Tacos, is opening sooner than expected on Sept. 26 at 10 a.m. Students were surprised to see "Tomorrow" scribbled underneath the original opening date on the tarp covering the entrance to the venue.
Opening in the space previously used for SaladWorks, Inked Tacos is located in the Melton Student Center, next to the entrance across from the Tiger Transits and near the War Eagle Supply Co. convenience store.
Saladworks ended operations in the student center after the Spring 2024 semester. In the summer, the space was blocked off with a tarp that read "Coming Soon" and "New Things Coming October 2024."
Sometime in August, the order display revealed the new dining spot would be Inked Tacos.
Inked Tacos is a Georgia-based birria taqueria franchise. According to the Inked Tacos online menu, the restaurant serves a variety of tacos, quesadillas, nachos and sliders. Customers can choose from chicken, shredded beef, carne asada or birria as a meat option.
The standard chips with queso, salsa or guacamole is also on the menu, with four different salsa options of mango, mild, medium and hot.
Birria is a Mexican dish where meat is marinated and stewed in broth, dried chili peppers and seasonings. In tacos, birria is often served with cilantro, onions and limes. Birria is often a mild or somewhat spicy dish.
Students interested in trying Inked Tacos will be able to order only through the GrubHub app. The location takes dining dollars and credit or debit cards. Next week will be the start of Inked Tacos' normal operation hours — Monday through Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m and Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
The opening is one of several this fall semester, following the likes of hybrid Original Chicken/Flametown Burgers, which replaced Bodda Burger in the Student Center, and Foy on the Fly, which opened next to the Panda Express in Foy Hall.
Over the summer, Tiger Dining partnered with Experiential Brands to attend sampling events and identify the best dining options for Auburn’s campus. This is how Tiger Dining discovered Inked Tacos, Original Chicken, and Flametown Burgers.
"We wanted to be able to bring some new things to students," said Glenn Loughridge, director of Campus Dining and Concessions. "Philosophically, we try to think in terms of every year we have a new freshman class, it's a new year, we want to have fun and fresh dining options to bring the students so that they want to eat here when they're on campus."
Initially, construction was scheduled for the fall, with the opening planned for spring. However, Tiger Dining expedited the timeline to ensure students would have access to more dining options sooner.
Loughridge shared that each year Tiger Dining reviews transaction data from campus dining locations to better understand student preferences and to improve campus dining options altogether.
"We're excited for students. I mean, we know that this has been one of the things that students have said that we needed to improve upon as far as having a great place to get Mexican food, and so we feel like we've got something that they'll enjoy, and we're excited to see how they respond to it," Loughridge said.
Students can learn more about Inked Tacos here.
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Michaela Yielding is a senior in journalism currently serving as the news editor. She has been with The Auburn Plainsman since fall 2023.
