Rankin Tacos is a family owned Mexican-American restaurant that has been serving the Tallahassee community since February 2020. The restaurant features three dining areas that include traditional booth seating, a covered patio and lawn deck that also serves as the host site for events such as live shows and luncheons.
Inside the restaurant, located on Allen Road not far from the Tallahassee mall, are two large overhead displays highlighting the various signature taco combinations and sides behind a register that partitions into the kitchen.
Next to the register stands a draft beer station with an array of open bottle and tap selections for customers as a game of Sunday afternoon football plays on a 40-inch television.
The covered patio serves as an extension to the building outside with a garage styled glass paned door where customers can eat and listen to music that plays on a set of speakers while looking out into the traffic of the comings and goings of people on the street. A sign out front promotes the latest event coming to Rankin Tacos on Oct.15, where the Fall Craft Fair will be held on the lawn deck adjacent to the main building where more tables and chairs sit with sun umbrellas to cover guests meeting on for a casual lunch date or awaiting the next live performance.
Alicia Herrera and her friends Jasmine Boyd, Keymari Anderson and Jordan Clarke attend the neighboring colleges of FSU and TCC and frequent the restaurant at least once every few months as a place to get tacos and catch up in between their busy schedules.
“Whenever I’m in the mood for tacos this is usually the spot me and my friends come to,” Herrera said. “Sometimes the usual options like Chipotle can start to get a little repetitive so it’s nice to have another option to be able to switch it up.”
Jordan, who works at the Barnes & Noble across the street, found the restaurant after it opened its brick-and-mortar location after previously operating as a food truck.
“I stopped by once on my lunch break and had their Radneck taco and thought it would be a place they’d like if they came,” Clarke said. “The signatures all have their own theme and sometimes they add new ones for a limited time.”
Boyd, who had also brought her laptop to work on an assignment due later in the day, likes the more relaxed environment Rankin Tacos offers throughout the week as crowded spaces generally disturb her focus.
“I don’t like doing my homework in public places because I never end up getting anything done, but there aren’t usually a lot of people eating in at once so if I have class or something to do I might stay here after I’ve eaten and just chill for a bit,” she said.