'T-Town Tacos' serves up second chances, tasty tacos at Taste of Brookside

Among the 18 restaurants serving up a bite and drink for the community to enjoy at the Taste of Brookside, is a new menu even the most dedicated foodie may not have heard of.

T-Town Tacos is a social enterprise under the umbrella of Youth Services of Tulsa. It's their first year participating in the tasty tour, but YST's Caroline Olsen said they've been around for a few years now.

2 News first introduced you to the project in 2017.

"We started T-Town Tacos in 2016 through an innovation grant at the Tulsa Area United Way, because we really saw a gap in our community just providing an opportunity for young people, especially young people experiencing homelessness, to really get job training that they need in order to go on and get a stable job that they can hold down,” said Olsen.

Since then, the taco joint has employed 79 young people across the community.

But the success these employees receive doesn't stop with making a good meal.

“It’s amazing what one opportunity can do," said Olsen. "We’ve had youth who have graduated from our programs, and they’ll go work at kitchens downtown, and they’re just able to maintain stable employment, maintain housing, and just that security that comes with all of that."

To protect their identities, 2 News was not able to speak with any of the youth directly.

However, Olsen did share some of their testimonials, with one former employee saying that it was the best job they ever had.

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“It’s an amazing transition to watch someone to go from living on the streets at 19 years old to then being able to hold down a steady job," said Olsen.

Every dollar spent on Taste of Brookside went directly to YST's programs, to benefit the young people they serve.

MORE WAYS TO HELP >>> YST's Wishlist for their Youth

This year marks the 11th annual Taste of Brookside, hosted by the Brookside Business Association to support YST.

Olsen said an event like this is important to connect for both the businesses and YST, in a mutually beneficial way.

• RELATED >>> Youth Services of Tulsa sells out annual fundraiser on Brookside

“We really love to engage with our community at every level," she said. "I know that our office is down here at 311 S. Madison, but that doesn’t mean that the Brookside neighborhood doesn’t utilize and need the programs and services that we offer. We offer about 20 different programs and services across Tulsa County, so we find if very important to go where people are and go support local businesses that do so much and support local nonprofits like Youth Services and so many of our neighbors.”

T-Town Tacos is available for catering events. They also do a Taco Tuesday from 7:30 am to 9:30 am at 311 S. Madison Ave. every week.

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