Alfredo Romero, owner of Taco Amaiz in Elliott Stables. A Mexican restaurant called Broke Boy Taco sent a cease and desist letter to his restaurant.
Broke Boy Taco, part-owned by Israel Adesanya, is ending its feud with Taco Amaiz after earlier accusing its Mexican chef of mimicking its branding.
Broke Boy Taco founder Sean Yarbrough has since apologised to Alfredo Romero, with the pair today holding a photo shoot on International Taco Day.
They now plan to raise spatulas together for a charity cook up in Parnell on October 17.
The beef is over. Two tussling taco chefs are set to end a public spat by serving up a tasty truce – and everyone’s invited.
Alfredo Romero and Sean Yarbrough – owners of Auckland’s Taco Amaiz and Broke Boy Taco – said they were joining forces next week to cooka “tonne of tacos” for charity.
The duo met today for a photo shoot on International Taco Day after earlier publicly clashing when Yarbrough sent a cease-and-desist legal letter to Romero.
It accused Romero of mimicking Broke Boy Taco’s beef birria taco branding.
Romero called the claim absurd, saying birria tacos were one of Mexico’s signature dishes and no single restaurant could lay claim to it.
Yarbrough quickly admitted he had made a mistake, but said it didn’t stop him being bombarded with death threats and online abuse.
He reached out to Romero to apologise in person. The pair now plan to hold the cook-up at the 269 Parnell food complex in Parnell on Friday, October 17.
“I said: ‘Look bro, the bottom line is I shouldn’t have sent you any legal letter,” Yarbrough told the Herald.
“I think it was a big mistake, I shouldn’t have done it, and you know, let’s do something fun for the community.”
Taco Amaiz co-owners Alfredo Romero (left) and José Santander (centre) have ended their Mexican stand-off with Sean Yarbrough (right) from Broke Boy Taco. Photo / Dean Purcell
Romero agreed, saying, he’d rather collaborate than beef any day.
Realising the pair had a chance to “change the perception”, he told Yarbrough he knew exactly what should be done.
“We cook together.”
And while the pair might not be solving world peace, they hope it sets a small example of regular Kiwis putting aside differences to do something positive for others.
The taco tussle began last month when Romero spoke out about the letter sent to him by Broke Boy Taco lawyers.
Alfredo Romero, owner of Taco Amaiz in Elliott Stables, said he has travelled in Mexico researching corn and pre-Spanish Mexican cuisine. Photo / Dean Purcell
Yarbrough’s Mt Albert eatery had earlier grown into an Auckland food fixture because of its popular beef tacos and Yarbrough’s rags-to-riches story of recovering from homelessness and addiction in his native United States.
Its fame further increased when UFC star Israel Adesanya became a part-owner.
The letter accused Taco Amaiz in the Elliott Stables of piggybacking off Broke Boy Taco’s fame by “passing off” its marketing and branding to mimic the Mt Albert eatery’s.
Romero, who grew up in the Mexican region of Sonora, where he says beef birria tacos hail from, told the Herald he was “shocked”.
He spent years working as a chef in his home country and said he was involved in pioneering research into Mexico’s pre-Spanish cooking traditions.
For an individual restaurant to lay claim over a traditional dish like birria taco was absurd, Romero said earlier.
“It’s kind of funny, but also really disrespectful.”
Yarbrough said he originally raised the issue with his legal team because his customers had been seeing Romero’s new Taco Amaiz eatery in the city centre and believed it was a new Broke Boy Taco outlet.
Repeated customers had asked him if he’d opened a new outlet, he said.
His the lawyers then counselled a letter should be sent.
Yarbrough said he had wanted to speak to Romero in person, but as a new business owner, he deferred to his lawyers’ judgment, believing this was normal communication in the business world.
