Keon Williams recently started operating Tacos 4 Life Dilworth, making him the company’s youngest and first Black franchisee. The national chain restaurant has more than 19 restaurants across five states, including three others in the Charlotte area, according to QCity Metro.
The young entrepreneur’s storefront is located in Charlotte’s Dilworth neighborhood. The restaurant offers a wide range of tacos, like Korean BBQ and blackened mahi-mahi, crab cake, tofu, and more. Also, the restaurant offers non-taco items like chicken bacon ranch quesadillas and fried chicken burritos, as well as house-made drinks, like its signature Paradise Punch.
“I wanted to come here. I know that there aren’t any Black businesses or food businesses in this area,” Williams said, according to QCity Metro. “I wanted to be that beacon of change and that beacon of light.”
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Williams’ interest in food dates back to his time working in his family’s businesses in the Charlotte, NC, area. His father operated Chat and Chew, while his grandfather owned a hoagie shop. According to him, he “watched them, the growing pains, the goods, and the bads.”
Meanwhile, a portion of the Dilworth location’s profits will be automatically directed to the nonprofit Feed My Starving Children as part of the conditions of being a franchisee of Tacos 4 Life. For every meal purchased, a meal will be packaged to give. These meals are then provided in more than 90 countries and distributed at feeding centers, CarePoints, orphanages, schools, and refugee camps, Afrotech reported.
According to the platform, the working relationship has already resulted in the distribution of over 38 million meals.
“My hope is that through Tacos 4 Life Dilworth, my teammates and I can be a part of the overall mission to help end starvation around the world,” Williams expressed. “We have the opportunity to be a part of the solution of bringing these necessities to communities.”
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