In Asbury Park, Sami's Mediterranean Street Food to become Tic Taco Taqueria

A new taqueria is coming to the corner of Main Street and Mattison Avenue in January.

Tic Taco Taqueria will focus on the dish most popular in Mexico City, where owner Xavier Rodriguez was born — street tacos on corn tortillas. That includes tacos al pastor made with pork and pineapple cooked on a vertical rotisserie.

"Mexico is so big, and it's diverse," said Rodriguez, 41. He'll also serve chicken, chorizo and carnitas tacos, plus a spiced pork taco called árabes. Other dishes include tortas, mulitas, burritos, nachos, carne asada fries, and aguas frescas in pineapple, watermelon and cucumber.

Rodriguez has a few things in common with the owner of the former restaurant in that space, Sami's Mediterranean Street Food, which closed in October.

Both Rodriguez and Sami's owner Sami Saab moved to the United States as teenagers — Saab from France and Rodriguez from Mexico. And both know what it's like to run a business in Asbury Park, one of the most dynamic dining cities in New Jersey.

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Saab, 37, said lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenge of owning a restaurant in a town like Asbury Park, where customers flock in the summer then dwindle in the off-season, contributed to his decision to close.

"Summer's great, then winter comes. It can be a bit brutal," Saab said, adding that he and other local restaurant owners even noticed a significant dip in business this summer. "This year is especially bad. You see people, but it's not as much as the summers before."

Saab will return to France for now, where he has a chef job lined up. He will recharge, he said, "and do what I love, to be in the kitchen." Rodriguez requested he stay involved with the business, so he plans to return to New Jersey.

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Rodriguez, who also owns Mayan Restaurant on Main Street and Jalape?os Supermarket on First Avenue, had long had his eye on the big corner space and jumped at the chance to open there, he said. The menu at Tic Taco Taqueria will not be the same as at Mayan, which serves breakfast platters, birria, tamales, enchiladas and huaraches, among other dishes.

Tic Taco Taqueria will be open for lunch and dinner and will follow Sami's tradition of staying open late on Fridays and Saturdays.

"Asbury was awesome. Once you have a business (in Asbury Park), it's like a community," Saab said. "I need to recharge and get the motivation back so I can come back and open something new."

Sarah Griesemer joined the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey in 2003 and has been writing all things food since 2014. Send restaurant tips to [email protected], follow on Instagram at Jersey Shore Eats and subscribe to our Jersey Shore Eats newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Sami's Mediterranean Street Food to become Tic Taco Taqueria