By: Olivia Hamerman
Back in 2012, Julia Scotto at the young age of 18 graduated from H. Frank Carey High School with the hopes of attending college and earning a degree. She chose to attend SUNY Oneonta and after a year decided to move back home to Garden City South with her family. She took a semester off however, because of her hard work she was accepted into the Fashion Institute of Technology, located in New York City. She was still living with her family and commuted to and from the city by taking public transportation. She planned to graduate college and eventually open her own stationery business. To do this, Scotto had to work part-time jobs to save money. She grew up in the restaurant business and worked as a waitress. When she turned 23, she was in search of a new job and was told by a friend that they were hiring at Umberto’s of Manhasset. Her life changed the second she started when she met her future husband and business partner, Mike Scotto. It was love at first sight and 8 months later the couple eloped and started their new life together.
Mike Scotto, her husband was a part-owner of Umberto’s of Manhasset. When asked about her initial plan she stated, “I was going to open up my own stationery business while Mike was going to stay at the restaurant”. The story of Tony’s Tacos and Tequila comes next. Scotto explained how the main chef (a good friend of the couple) of the Manhasset restaurant wanted to open a new place for his wife to run since she was getting older and wanted a job. He needed partners who could help financially and therefore, the Scottos graciously agreed to become part owners and help their friend open the store. At first, they were going to open a Spanish deli. It wasn’t until a few months in that the Scottos had to take on a huge role in opening the store. The initial plan was for the couple to just be a silent partners while their friend’s family ran the store. However, due to unforeseen issues, the couple realized that they were going to have to do things themselves. When they were left in charge of opening the store, she explained how they didn’t know a lot about Spanish delis and how if they wanted to run a business, they wanted to do something that was a quote on quote “easy concept”. “Mike didn’t know anything about Spanish delis, we wanted to pick something that he knew about and that is when the idea hit us, Italian style tacos” exclaimed Scotto. They ran with the idea and in May of 2020, they embarked on their journey. Scotto emphasized how she wasn’t even supposed to work at the store, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, she was able to stay around and help her husband open the store. When asked about the effects of the pandemic on opening a new restaurant she explained, “Take out restaurants were booming during the pandemic, people were getting tired of cooking and wanted to try new things and Tony’s Tacos was the perfect thing to try, if anything the pandemic helped us open up.” A few months after opening, the couple took over, becoming the main shareholder and therefore took full reign of everything that is Tony’s Tacos and Tequila. Their first year of the opening was a success, people were obsessed with the different taco combinations from their most popular taco known as the “Shrimp and Mango” to their full-blown Italian style tacos like the “Meatball Parm”. “Customers loved our food, Mike and I loved serving it to them it was a win-win situation”. The couple saw how much people loved their food and Scotto explained how surprised they were with how fast the word spread and how popular they became.
It has now been 2 years since the opening of Tony’s Tacos of Floral Park. The Scotto’s now have two locations, one in Floral Park, New York, and the other in Huntington, New York that opened in November of 2021. They have a third location coming that is in Franklin Square, New York, and is expected to open in August of 2022. Tony’s Tacos and Tequila is known for its quality ingredients, unique taco combinations, and menu items such as “pizza-dillas”, along with their fresh, homemade margaritas. Selling thousands of tacos per week has become their new reality and Scotto explained how much dedication and drive it takes to run such a successful business. “The most important thing about opening a business is knowing that it isn’t just a 40-hour workweek, the personal sacrifice is the hardest part about running a business", emphasized Scotto. Customers love the friendly faces and service they receive as well which people can see online with the amazing reviews the business receives. “Finding a good staff was difficult, it took us over a year to finally feel secure with the people we have working, we finally have a team that we can trust while Mike and I move on to open up our new location”.
So, what is the end goal of Tony’s Tacos and Tequila? This was a question Scotto answered with ease, “The dream is to build a bigger company and either sustain it or sell it to a buyer and move on, it is so difficult to be both business owners and have our own lives.” The future for Tony’s Tacos remains unknown but what is known for sure is Scotto’s dedication and love for the industry. They are changing people one taco at a time. “It isn’t the life I expected for myself, but things always happen the way they are supposed to, and I couldn’t be happier”. Julia Scotto is a prime example of a dedicated, hardworking, and problem-solving individual who can conquer anything that comes her way with ease. The business she has created alongside her husband will go down in history as the most delicious Italian- taqueria on Long Island. The future is bright, and taco filling!
