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Muchachos owner and manager Nick Maestas alongside an artistic representation of his grandfather.
Muchachos Hatch Mac Burrito is the customer favorite.
The Breakfast Taco is owner Nick Maestas's favorite item on the Muchachos menu.
The success of a restaurant can depend upon the quality of its produce, customer service, type of cuisine, even atmosphere.
For one Lincoln restaurant, while the rapid rise of its popularity and acceptance includes the above-mentioned qualities, in reality it is a story that is personal … a story of family, of heritage and of struggle.
Nick Maestas – owner and manager of Muchachos – is honest and blunt when he talks about the journey that he and his restaurant have made.
Maestas’ story … of Muchachos, is one born out of grief. After gigs with Lincoln’s public access channel and 15 years in the information technology field, he wasn’t finding self-satisfaction. He took to social media to talk about his wins and losses. Friendships developed and feedback helped, but still something was missing.
A critical point came when his grandfather passed away. The death generated memories of his grandparents and their heritage, reminders of New Mexico. He recalled the times spent with relatives and his late grandmother’s legendary enchiladas, which she sold at garage sales, selling more enchiladas than garage sale items.
His family memories at one point generated a craving for those enchiladas and resulted in Maestas’ attempt at duplicating them. “That experience made me feel better … I enjoyed that feeling,” he said.
Maestas started making enchiladas more often – taking them into his workplace and selling them at garage sales himself. The positive comments were reinforcing.
In 2017, Maestas began looking for a food truck to purchase. He found one in St. Louis, and three months later the Muchachos Food Truck hit the streets of Lincoln.
Business and demand grew. By early 2020, he started looking for a building to house a brick-and-mortar version of the food truck, discovering it near downtown Lincoln. Even with 2020 being the year of the COVID-19 pandemic, Muchachos Restaurant opened in August of that year.
According to Maestas, it was the Muchachos Food Truck that saved the business during the pandemic by offering family meals for customers concerned about entering enclosed areas.
Then in October of 2021, Muchachos got a jumpstart to its reputation. The restaurant was featured on ESPN’s “Taste of the Town” national segment on the afternoon of the Nebraska vs. Michigan football game. College football analyst Todd Blackledge highlighted the restaurant and its Pipeline Burrito – a product created by Maestas with assistance of the members of the Husker offensive line.
“BOOM!” Maestas said. “After that attention, everything really exploded.”
The Muchachos menu is a combination of Maestas’ own creations and homage to his family and its heritage. Maestas calls it a New Mexico Mexican BBQ Fusion, with the restaurant’s Facebook page stating, “We specialize in smoked meat goodness mixed with traditional New Mexican flavor to create a new kind of deliciousness.”
Breakfast items include the Breakfast Taco (red or green salsa, choice of protein, slaw, avocado crema and scrambled eggs, $5.50) and the Breakfast Burrito (14-inch flour tortilla with scrambled eggs, smoked meats, shredded cheese, salsa and crema, $13.50).
Queso Nachos are $10 for a regular serving, with the large serving being $18. With choice of protein, Street Tacos cost $2.50 and regular Tacos are $4.
Muchachos’ specialty Hatch Mac options number three – the Hatch Mac (cheesy macaroni, red or green salsa and choice of protein, $10/$14), Hatch Mac Burrito ($13) or the Hatch Mac Quesadilla ($15).
Rice offerings include a Rice Bowl (choice of ingredients and protein, $10), a Chacho Burrito (choice of ingredients and protein, $12) and the Pipeline Burrito (three smoked meats, beans, rice, queso, crushed chips, salsa, slaw and avocado crema, $18).
Meat plates with two side choices and one, two or three proteins cost $14, $17 and $20.
The restaurant’s protein choices are pork, brisket, chicken or chicken taco, with the exception of the meat plate options which are pork, brisket or chicken.
Customer favorite on the menu? Maestas said that was easy – the Hatch Mac Burrito wins hands down.
The restaurant offers cocktails, margaritas and light spirits, along with a full service coffee bar.
The Muchachos Food Truck was named 2021 and 2022 recipient of the Top Food Truck award by the Lincoln Journal Star’s Lincoln’s Choice Awards. Maestas said that Muchachos is expecting to expand to a site in Omaha by the end of the year or early 2023. It already has a coffee and cereal bar tagged CTRL in Omaha, offering numerous options for breakfast cereal and toppings dining.
While a small, narrow space, the Lincoln restaurant is comfortably intimate with brick walls displaying local art as well as more than one representation of Maestas’ grandfather.
Muchachos’ demographic ranges from business people for lunch and evening meal patronage often consisting of families or individuals on date nights. He also said that there has been an increase in the number of retirees who start arriving around 4:30 p.m.
Citing acceptance and inclusion, Maestas said that “everyone is welcome at Muchachos, and there is a table for everyone … something for everyone.”
www.yomuchacho.com, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
Hours: Tuesday thru Thursday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m.; Closed Sundays and Mondays
Dine in, carryout, catering: Carryout and catering orders are accepted only online
You have to try: Nick Maestas finds his Meat Plate options to be pretty pleasing, but then a smile crosses his face and, almost smacking his lips, he gives the Breakfast Taco ($5.50) his vote. “I could, and do, eat a bunch of those,” he said.
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Muchachos owner and manager Nick Maestas alongside an artistic representation of his grandfather.
Muchachos Hatch Mac Burrito is the customer favorite.
The Breakfast Taco is owner Nick Maestas's favorite item on the Muchachos menu.
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