Shell Shock’d Tacos has something of a cult following for its distinctive take on Mexican favorites.
After years of pop-ups and sold-out taco Tuesdays, Shell Shock’d Tacos is establishing its home base at 418 Willis St. next to the former Avalon International Breads in Midtown. The new spot is now open for takeout from 5 p.m. until midnight on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays as the owners wait for the dining area buildout to be completed.
Co-owners Margo Moon and Cedric Andrews were slinging tacos out of Cobb’s Corner Bar a few doors down earlier this year while they got the space ready.
Andrews tells Metro Times he and Moon decided to open with limited hours in mid-October to appease their loyal customers who have been impatiently waiting.
“Every day we were getting phone calls asking us to open,” he says. “People who have been following us when we were doing our pop-ups haven’t been able to find us, but now we’re here and Midtown has been so welcoming. We’ve seen more repeat customers from the neighborhood than the customers we’ve seen over the years.”
He adds that customers are welcome to take their carryout to Cobb’s Corner Bar if they want to sit down and eat.
For now, the menu includes its popular birria tacos, taco de pollo (which won the people’s choice award in Eastern Market’s Taco Showdown in 2022), elote, elote chicken wings, and nachos. Occasionally they add limited items from their previous pop-ups, like birria eggrolls and crunch wraps.
“The crunch wrap was a huge request because people loved it in the past. Within two days we sold over 100 of them” he says. “Coming up, we’ll be testing out and doing specials to see what people like. People have been asking for a Nashville hot chicken taco. We have a birria baked potato, pollo ramen, a birria pho… some of those things, with the weather shifting, we’ll be looking to try them out.”
Shell Shock’d started as a pop-up in 2021. They were a 2023 Hatch Detroit finalist and received a Motor City Match grant at the end of October.
Andrews hopes to be fully open in the next month but says it depends on how soon the contractors finish the space. For now, Shell Shock’d is appealing to a late-night crowd given the number of college students in the neighborhood and lack of variety for people who are out late.
“We wanted to have a fresh, fun alternative to the chain fast food and Coney Islands that everybody is used to,” he says. “We are right around the corner from McDonald’s, a few blocks from Detroit One [Coney Island]. There’s White Castle… after a certain time of night you can only get those options.”
Subscribe to Metro Times newsletters.
Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
