Conway-based Tacos 4 Life opening in Arkansas' capital city

A rendering of Conway-based Tacos 4 Life's fourth location, which is set to open in Little Rock in early 2017.
A rendering of Conway-based Tacos 4 Life's fourth location, which is set to open in Little Rock in early 2017.

Conway-based Mexican restaurant Tacos 4 Life is bringing its meal-for-meal vision to Arkansas’ capital city, the eatery said Friday.

The Little Rock standalone location will open in early 2017 at the Shackleford Crossing shopping center off Shackleford Road, between Boomerang Carwash and Longhorn Steakhouse, according to a news release.

“We are growing and excited to be opening a location in Little Rock, which is a tremendous milestone for our young company,” said Austin Samuelson, who co-owns Tacos 4 Life with his wife, Ashton.

Tacos 4 Life owners said the restaurant's mission is to help eradicate childhood hunger around the world, with a portion of proceeds from meals purchased at the restaurant going to Feed My Starving Children.

“Our main focus as a restaurant is to feed hungry children by providing customers with made-from-scratch, amazing food,” said Ashton Samuelson, speaking on the meal-for-meal mission.

Tacos 4 Life bills itself as “quirky.” Its menu of tacos includes mango habanero chicken, fried chicken, fish, pineapple shrimp, cuban pork, chickpea, tofu and beef. Other items include nachos, quesadillas, salads, rice bowls and burritos.

A deal for 1-acre of land at Shackleford Crossing was finalized Wednesday. Hank Kelley and Eric Varner of Flake and Kelley Commercial in Little Rock represented the seller, Shackleford Crossings Investors LLC.

The restaurant, which developers say is embarking on a “vigorous development plan,” has two Conway locations and another in Fayetteville.

Kevin Chenoweth, a spokesman for Tacos 4 Life, told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in late June that the restaurant hoped to open "a few more [locations] during the first quarter of 2017 and two more in the third and fourth quarters as well, all in Arkansas."

Developers had planned to open a location in Russellville this fall, but that deal fell through, Chenoweth said.

"We would definitely like to open a location there, but it won't be in 2016," he added.

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