Taco Street, the family-owned Mexican restaurant that debuted at the Waterfront Market in Ruston, opened its third location Aug. 21 inside Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Co-owners Elonka Perez and Martin Perez landed the spot through SEA Sparks, a Port of Seattle program that removes the steep financial barriers that typically keep small operators out of major airports.

The Port built and owns the kitchen, eliminating what Elonka Perez estimated could be millions of dollars in upfront buildout costs, The News Tribune first reported.

"They really are creating this … I don't have the same type of overhead that I would in other situations," Perez said.

"That's huge for small businesses."

The restaurant sits in the Central Terminal Esplanade between Concourses C and D, next to Salty's at the SEA.

It is open daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., with hours expected to expand to 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Beating out dozens of applicants

Taco Street competed against dozens of businesses for the SEA Sparks slot. After an initial application round, 40 businesses, including Taco Street, advanced.

Taco Street then made the top six, and Elonka and Martin Perez presented their food to a judging panel. In February, they learned they had won.

The couple was told to prepare for a June opening tied to the FIFA World Cup. That date was later pushed to August.

The SEA Sparks lease runs three years. The Port of Seattle describes the quick-service food incubator as the first of its kind in any North American airport.

The program's roots trace to 2012, when the airport's dining and retail team launched what it calls the nation's first airport incubator.

Port of Seattle spokesperson Perry Cooper said the program continues the airport's long-running effort to bring small businesses into a space that can be difficult to operate in.

Taco Street started in 2020 at the Waterfront Market in Ruston and opened a second location at the Tacoma Mall food court in December 2025.

The airport menu mirrors the home-cooked fare at those Tacoma-area locations in a streamlined format. Breakfast burritos run $10, single tacos $4.75 to $5.50 and a four-taco plate with rice and beans $15.50 to $19.50.

Perez said hiring has been especially difficult at the airport. Security protocols make onboarding cumbersome, and recent federal immigration enforcement at airports has increased fear among immigrant and refugee workers, she said, "even if they have every right to be there."

The Perezes are prepping slow-stewed meats and chopped produce at a new commercial kitchen in SoDo, where they plan to open a Taco Street spinoff restaurant in the coming months.