This profile is in active compilation — some details are awaiting a cited source.

Madrina Vegana Taqueria is a plant-based Mexican taco stand in the Crossroads, operating out of the 120-square-foot courtyard kiosk at 1881-B Main Street that was Sauced’s original home. It is the Kansas City outpost of a New York brand: founder Erica Muñoz, a Mexican-American former esthetician who built Madrina Vegana from 2021 pop-ups into an Astoria, Queens storefront, opened here in June 2026 with partner Jason Smith-Mendez through the city’s Open Doors! World Cup storefront program. Al pastor, carnitas and chicken-tinga tacos, elote and a “supreme burrito,” all without meat or dairy. The site itself calls the KC location a temporary pop-up; whether it outlasts its Open Doors term is the open question.

Description

The stand is small — 120 square feet, a courtyard kiosk between Academy Bank and the Corrigan Station building at 19th and Main, with open-air seating — because it was built for a smashburger window: Sauced opened here in 2021 and outgrew it, closing in October 2025 and reopening in July 2026 in a 2,000-square-foot room directly across 19th Street.12 Madrina Vegana moved into the vacated kiosk in June 2026 as one of more than twenty businesses, artists and organizations placed in empty storefronts by Open Doors!, the city’s World Cup activation program.34

The city’s listing describes it as “a plant-based taqueria offering bold, flavorful vegan interpretations of traditional dishes,” and FOX4’s small-business segment as “a fresh take on traditional taqueria cuisine through a fully plant-based menu.”56 The brand’s own line is “Modern Mexican Vegan Fare.”7 The menu, as published in the brand’s online shop, is short: al pastor tacos, carnitas tacos, chicken tinga tacos and crispy tacos (three to an order, most gluten-free), Madrina’s Supreme Burrito, loaded nachos, guacamole and chips, street-corn elote, rice and beans, a plant-based “chopped cheese” empanada and a guava empanada, with Jarritos, Mexican Coke and strawberry lemonade to drink.8 The Kansas City page on the site samples the elote, strawberry lemonade, rice and beans and Mexican Coke.9 The founder’s own framing of the food: “I didn’t want to recreate Mexican food without meat — I wanted to recreate the feeling of growing up around it.”10

Ownership and history

Erica Muñoz founded Madrina Vegana in New York. By her own account on the site she is a former day-spa owner and esthetician with more than twenty-two years in the wellness industry who grew up in a Mexican-American household as its only vegan, lactose-intolerant at a table built around meat and cheese; the pandemic pushed her back toward food, and in 2021 she began selling plant-based versions of her childhood dishes at pop-ups and food festivals from New York to Miami under the name Pinche Vegana.10 By the end of 2022 customers were driving more than an hour for her tacos — “It was more than food. It was a movement” — and the brand, renamed Madrina Vegana, settled into a storefront at 2851 48th Street in Astoria, Queens, open Thursday through Sunday.1011 Her blog traces her roots to Guanajuato, Mexico, and her cooking to her grandmother.12 The site cites coverage on PIX11 and a VegNews list of the top thirty restaurant destinations in the United States, and catering for the New York mayor’s office, Amazon and Google.7 The site footer credits the brand to “Erica Ramos”; Muñoz and Ramos appear to be the same person under two surnames.

Jason Smith-Mendez is the Kansas City partner. Startland News names him alongside Muñoz as the owners of the Kansas City location; no retrieved source gives his background, prior ventures or how the two connected.1

The Kansas City opening came through Open Doors!, announced May 5–6, 2026 by the City of Kansas City and the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City as part of the “City of Entrepreneurs” platform: short-term subsidized storefronts of three to six months, working-capital grants for build-out and operations, and legal, marketing and finance assistance, with participants beginning to operate by June 1 across more than 43,000 square feet in downtown, the Crossroads, 18th & Vine, the River Market, Midtown and Westport.453 Funding came from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and corporate partners including Airbnb, IKEA, Evergy, T-Mobile and Wells Fargo.5 Madrina Vegana Taqueria was listed at 1881 Main Street with Muñoz as owner; other food participants included El Café Cubano, Safi Fresh, Birdies, Cupcakin and Brain Freeze Mobile Daiquiri.35 FOX4 featured the stand in its summer small-business series on June 9, 2026; Startland reported it as open “during the FIFA World Cup” in its July 22 and August 2 stories on Sauced’s return.612

The brand’s site is candid that the arrangement is provisional: the Kansas City page carries the note “This is a temporary pop-up location and may be updated or removed as the pop-up schedule changes.”9

Last verified: 2026-08-28 · Source: the brand’s own online shop on madrinaveganataqueria.com, plus the sample items on its Kansas City page · Confidence: Medium — the shop is the New York location’s; the Kansas City kiosk’s exact lineup and prices are unconfirmed. Marked partial for that reason.89

Tacos & mains

  • Al Pastor Tacos (GF, 3) — from $18 · Carnitas Tacos (GF, 3) — from $15 · Chicken Tinga Tacos (GF, 3) — from $15 · Crispy Tacos (GF, 3) — from $18
  • Madrina’s Supreme Burrito ($19)

Sides & antojitos

  • Madrina’s Loaded Nachos (GF) ($20) · Guacamole with Chips ($10) · Street Corn Elote (GF) ($8) · Rice and Beans ($8)
  • Chopped Cheese Empanada — plant-based beef and queso ($7) · Guava Empanada ($7)

Drinks

  • Strawberry Lemonade ($7) · Jarritos ($4) · Mexican Coke bottle ($4) · Bottled Water ($2)

Sources

Footnotes

  1. Taylor Wilmore, “Step inside: Crossroads smashburger spot returns with fresh drip, room to get SAUCED,” Startland News, 2026-07-22 — Confirms: Madrina Vegana Kansas City at 1881 Main St., Sauced’s former 120-square-foot courtyard kiosk between Academy Bank and Corrigan Station; owners Erica Muñoz and Jason Smith-Mendez; vegan Mexican taqueria; opened summer 2026 during the World Cup via City of Entrepreneurs’ Open Doors! program; Sauced history (2021 opening, October 2025 closure, new 2,000 sq ft space at 7 E 19th St). ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  2. Taylor Wilmore / Startland News, “Kansas City smashburger spot returns to Crossroads with new restaurant: ‘Sit down, chill, eat,’” republished by KCUR, 2026-08-02 — Confirms: Madrina Vegana Kansas City “debuted during the FIFA World Cup in summer 2026” at 1881 Main St. through Open Doors!; owners Muñoz and Smith-Mendez; Sauced’s reopening across the street. ↩ ↩2

  3. Startland News staff, “Meet your World Cup neighbors: Open Doors! reveals 20+ business, artist activations,” Startland News, 2026-05-05 — Confirms: program organizers (EDCKC and the City); operations beginning June 1, 2026; 3–6-month subsidized storefronts, grants, technical assistance; funding sources; 43,000+ sq ft across six districts; “Madrina Vegana Taqueria — 1881 Main St., Erica Munoz”; the other participants named above. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  4. City of Kansas City, Missouri, news release “Kansas City Activates Vacant Storefronts,” posted 2026-05-06 — Confirms: “more than 20 local businesses, artists, and organizations have been matched to storefronts … through the Open Doors! program, activating vacant spaces ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026”; listing “Madrina Vegana Taqueria — 1881 Main Street: A plant-based taqueria offering bold, flavorful vegan interpretations of traditional dishes.” ↩ ↩2

  5. Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, “Kansas City Activates Vacant Storefronts for 20+ Local Businesses Through Open Doors!” Retrieved 2026-08-28 — Confirms: June 1 start across 18+ locations; “Short-term, subsidized storefront opportunities (3–6 months)”; funding from the Kauffman Foundation, HUD, Airbnb, IKEA, UMKC Legal Clinic, Evergy, Pathway Financial Education, T-Mobile and Wells Fargo; City of Entrepreneurs framing; the Madrina Vegana listing and description. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  6. “CITY OF ENTREPRENEURS: Madrina Vegana Taqueria,” FOX4 Kansas City (Great Day KC, sponsored small-business series), posted 2026-06-09 — Confirms: “a fresh take on traditional taqueria cuisine through a fully plant-based menu”; participation in Open Doors!; “expanding its presence in Kansas City”; website and phone 816-260-3675. ↩ ↩2

  7. Madrina Vegana — official website, home page. Retrieved 2026-08-28 — Confirms: “Modern Mexican Vegan Fare”; Astoria address 2851 48th St; founder credited as Erica Ramos; PIX11 and VegNews Top 30 citations; catering for the NYC mayor, Amazon and Google; Uber Eats and Truckster links; Instagram @madrinavegananyc; “Kansas City Pop-Up” navigation link. ↩ ↩2

  8. Madrina Vegana — official website, shop collection “All.” Retrieved 2026-08-28 — Confirms: every item and price in the Menu section, with GF markings. ↩ ↩2

  9. Madrina Vegana — official website, “Kansas City Pop-Up.” Retrieved 2026-08-28 — Confirms: address “1881 B Main Street, Kansas City, MO 64108”; hours Tue–Sat 11–8, Sun 11–5, Mon closed; sample items (Street Corn Elote, Strawberry Lemonade, Rice and Beans, Mexican Coke); “This is a temporary pop-up location and may be updated or removed as the pop-up schedule changes.” ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  10. Madrina Vegana — official website, “What’s the Pinche Deal? The Story.” Retrieved 2026-08-28 — Confirms: founder Erica Muñoz; former day-spa owner and esthetician, 22+ years in wellness; only vegan in a Mexican-American household; 2021 start via pop-ups and food festivals from New York to Miami; end-of-2022 growth (“more than food. It was a movement”); the “recreate the feeling of growing up around it” quote; Pinche Vegana / Madrina Vegana names used interchangeably. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  11. Madrina Vegana — official website, “Contact.” Retrieved 2026-08-28 — Confirms: Astoria address and Thu–Sun 11–8 hours; Kansas City address and hours as on the KC page; Instagram and Facebook links. ↩

  12. Madrina Vegana — official website, blog index. Retrieved 2026-08-28 — Confirms: post titles including “Historia Time… My roots from Guanajuato, Mexico” and “Cooking with my Abuelita…” (2023-04-25) and “How we convert meat eaters one crispy taco at a time” (2025-11-11); no Kansas City post. ↩

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On the record — ks.city/registry/madrina-vegana-kc · record updated 2026-08-28