Since its debut in the 1980s, the Choco Taco has captured the hearts of novelty ice cream fans across America.
This iconic dessert, characterized by its sugar cone taco shell filled with ice cream and coated in chocolate, was the brainchild of Alan Drazen.
Drazen, who transitioned from being a Philadelphia ice cream truck driver to a manager, aimed to create a unique treat for the Jack and Jill Ice Cream Company.
In 1983, capitalizing on the growing popularity of Mexican cuisine, the Choco Taco was introduced and quickly earned the title of “America’s coolest taco” by the mid-90s.
Among its many fans is Tyler Malek, co-founder of Salt & Straw and known for his innovative ice cream creations.
“I’m obsessed with the Choco Taco,” Malek expressed, recalling it as one of the greatest ice cream truck desserts of all time.
In 2016, Malek attempted to recreate the Choco Taco at Wiz Bang Bar, a now-closed soft serve shop.
However, the labor-intensive process of making them involved hand-painting cones with chocolate and filling them using a soft serve machine.
“This would result in about 50 tacos a day, which sold out by noon every day,” he said of his creation, affectionately named “The Tacolate.”
Everything changed in July 2022 when Klondike announced the surprising discontinuation of the Choco Taco via a tweet, citing an “unprecedented spike in demand across our portfolio” as justification.
Malek and his cousin Kim, also a co-founder, seized the moment to honor their beloved childhood treat.
They halted regular Salt & Straw production to hand-make 500 Tacolates, all of which sold out within hours.
This surge in interest attracted the attention of Sean Tresvant, a seasoned Portlander and former Nike executive.
Tresvant, now with Taco Bell, proposed a collaboration to create the ice cream taco on a larger scale.
The partnership between the fourth largest fast-food chain in the U.S. and a mid-sized ice cream artisanal brand might seem unconventional, but it’s not Taco Bell’s first collaboration with Portland-based companies.
Over the past couple of years, Taco Bell has worked with local businesses, including a recent partnership with Secret Aardvark to promote the return of fan-favorite Nacho Fries.
Through discussions with the Taco Bell team, Malek was impressed by their commitment to innovation, a rarity among corporations of their size.
“We launch a new menu every single month at Salt & Straw, generating about 150 new products a year with 50 locations, and they’re doing almost as many with thousands of locations,” he noted.
In the time since collaborating with Taco Bell, Malek has been on a challenging journey to produce the Tacolate in quantities substantial enough to meet expected demand.
He encountered difficulties as the original Choco Taco was manufactured in a single, mystery-laden factory that operated with minimal transparency.
This revealed a ‘dark hole of information’ regarding the factory’s processes and equipment.
Malek’s venture to perfect the Tacolate included a significant week-long trip to Poland to work with Mariusz Goik, a prominent ice cream equipment inventor in Europe.
Together, they designed a custom, state-of-the-art machine — an investment of millions, featuring approximately 2,000 adjustable components.
“It’s the most precise piece of ice cream equipment probably in the world right now,” Malek explained.
As of now, the Tacolates are exclusively available at Salt & Straw locations in North Portland.
However, Malek remains hopeful for expansion, stating, “I think they see us as a little bit of an incubator, which allows us to test this out, and if it goes well, we could sell these in Taco Bells eventually.”
Even if that doesn’t happen, the collaboration has fostered a strong relationship between the two companies, opening doors for future possibilities.
image source from：opb
