Internationally acclaimed Hawaiian chef and restaurateur, Mark Ellman first conceived of Maui Tacos from the lanai of his beachfront home in Maui. With the persistent crash of waves pounding the beachfront shore, he sipped a glass of mango iced tea, contemplated life, death and the surfers waiting for the next great wave…. and the delicious Mexican food he grew up with in Southern California and longed for in his new home in Hawaii.

As the sun set on the Pacific, Chef Ellman knew what he wanted to do. He went to work and in 1993 he opened the first MAUI TACOS® restaurant, in Napili, Maui. “I set out to create a restaurant fusing traditional Mexican fare with the exotic flavors from the Hawaiian Islands”. The successful result was MAUI TACOS®.

That first restaurant received rave reviews and was quickly followed by several more locations on Maui, Oahu, and the Big Island. For years Hawaiians, jet-setters, island hoppers and pro-surfers have brought legendary stories of MAUI TACOS® with them everywhere they have traveled and sure enough the concept was finally brought to the mainland in 1998. And the legend continues today as a sizzling hot concept with restaurants opening across the globe.