Rico's Tacos

A low-frills, cash-friendly taquería on the historic Southwest Boulevard Mexican corridor, where street-style tacos are built on a cart set into the front wall — pastor, asada, chorizo, and barbacoa at a buck-and-change apiece, served with three house salsas and finely diced onion.

Description

Rico’s Tacos — listed on signage and online as Rico’s Tacos “Lupe” — is a casual, authentic taquería at 802 Southwest Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri, on the city’s historic Southwest Boulevard Mexican-restaurant corridor at the edge of the Westside neighborhood.¹² It is a low-frills, locally beloved spot known for street-style tacos cooked on a taco cart built into the front wall of the dining room.³

The menu centers on small street tacos — a soft tortilla with meat, finely diced onion, and cilantro — offered across proteins including al pastor, carne asada, chicken, chorizo, and barbacoa, at roughly $1.50–$2.50 each (with reports of a $1 al pastor special on Tuesdays).¹³ Diners choose from three house salsas — hot, mild, and a green tomatillo — and the kitchen rounds out the offering with tamales, tortas, huaraches, taco salads, a burrito supreme, guacamole, shrimp ceviche tostadas, and dessert.¹² The Pitch singled out the finely diced onion as a standout, “the crispiest crunch yet a gentle flavor,” alongside richly seasoned chicken and carne asada.¹ The spot is also known locally for a BYOB policy and informal taco-eating challenges documented on its walls.³

Ownership and history

Rico’s Tacos appears to be an independently owned, single-location taquería with no corporate parent.²³ The “Lupe” in the business name and Instagram handle (ricos_tacos_lupe816) strongly suggests a family or personal name — most likely Guadalupe (“Lupe”) — but the owner’s identity is not documented in any public source reviewed.

The seed founding year is 2010, but no reviewed source confirms a founding date; this should be treated as provisional. The Pitch noted in a May 2025 feature that the business operates “with no website and scant social media presence,” relying instead on word-of-mouth reputation — consistent with a long-standing, owner-run neighborhood taquería rather than a marketing-driven newcomer.¹

Links

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ricos_tacos_lupe816/
• Website: https://www.orderricostacoslupe.com/ (online-ordering page; not a full informational site)
• Phone: (816) 472-0738

See also

• westside
• Registry

Sources

Footnotes

1. The Pitch — “Eat This Now: Street tacos at Ricos Tacos ‘Lupe’” (2025-05-02) — https://www.thepitchkc.com/eat-this-now-street-tacos-at-ricos-tacos-lupe/ — accessed 2026-05-30 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

2. Yelp — Ricos Tacos Lupe, 802 Southwest Blvd, Kansas City, MO (144 photos, 181 reviews; updated May 2026) — https://www.yelp.com/biz/ricos-tacos-lupe-kansas-city — accessed 2026-05-30 ↩ ↩² ↩³

3. On the Grid — Ricos Tacos “Lupe,” Kansas City — https://onthegrid.city/kansas-city/crossroads-district/ricos-tacos-lupe — accessed 2026-05-30 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴