Taylor Ann Carpenter

How does someone go from being a police officer to owning a cleaning business to owning an authentic Mexican restaurant? Those industries don’t have much in common except for one woman, Claudia Cogswell. All because she is “…one of those people that [say], ‘Hey, let’s give it a shot,” we have Memphis Tacos.

Behind Memphis Tacos

Claudia Cogswell has a can-do attitude and has been giving “it” a chance her whole life.

“I’m originally from Mexico,” she started. “When I was five years old my family came, and I was moved to California to go to school.”

After finishing school Claudia became a police officer in California. She worked in law enforcement for 12 years. She then got married to George Cogswell. George had a job opportunity in Memphis, so the couple moved here. Shortly after moving, the Cogswells started a cleaning company called Memphis Clean.

One of Memphis Clean’s clients was the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. While cleaning their space, she noticed that the food court didn’t have any Mexican food. In a conversation with the people at UTHSC, Claudia asked questions about the space and ultimately asked to open a Mexican restaurant.

“I said, ‘Let me open one up.’”

And from there she got to work. She and her business partner (and husband), George, opened Memphis Tacos, an authentic Mexican restaurant, in the food court at UTHSC. They have been open for a year and a half now.

“I know authentic Mexican food, because I’m Mexican, so let’s do this,” she said.

The Inspiration

“Being from a Mexican family, I grew up on authentic Mexican food and that was one of my disappointments when I moved here to Memphis. There is none,” Claudia explained.

Claudia experienced eating authentic Mexican food her whole life. That is until she moved to Memphis. While there are Mexican restaurants in town, Claudia was used to a world where there was an abundance of Mexican restaurants that gave her the cooking she loved.

“In California anywhere you turn, you find a great taco,” she claimed. “Here, it’s non-existent.”

She noticed an absence of authentic Mexican restaurants in the UTHSC area and was prompted to fix it herself.

“When I was given the opportunity to provide Memphians authentic Mexican food, I jumped on it,” she exclaimed.

Another crucial factor in her decision to open Memphis Tacos was the COVID-19 pandemic.

She explained, “Because of COVID, everybody had to kind of reinvent themselves. So I thought, ‘You know what, this would be a good opportunity to kind of get my foot in the door and see how this works.’”

She used the pandemic as her opportunity to try something new. Many people would see that as a huge risk and one you shouldn’t take. They heard of all the businesses struggling during the pandemic, but Claudia and George gave it a shot anyways.

“It’s been a good ride,” she commented.

Their Offerings

Memphis Tacos has authentic Mexican dishes. Of course, to go with the name there are tacos, but they have other classic Mexican food.

“We have tacos and burritos; bowls, quesadillas, churros. You name it, we could do it.”

For any good restaurant it is crucial to have a solid menu of food items your customers enjoy. When crafting the menu, Claudia spent a lot of time collaborating with her staff. They have been with her since the start of Memphis Tacos.

“All my employees are Mexican, so they know what good Mexican food tastes like,” she noted.

Claudia and her team worked hard to create a menu that was the perfect fit for their customers. Some people like spicy food and others don’t, so they created a thoughtful menu.

“We can’t make it super spicy, so we have to kind of get it in the middle.”

Beyond just flavors, Claudia wanted a menu that catered to her customers. Her customers are primarily UTHSC staff, students, and patients. She wanted them to be able to, “come in, get a nice, healthy, freshly made meal that’s made to order and promptly.”

She emphasized the freshly made aspect of her food by saying, “We don’t get things that are already made. That’s not how Mexican food is.”

Memphis Tacos also cater for all sorts of events from birthday parties to corporate events. While she offers the same menu offered at the restaurant, she said, “If it’s catering and they want specific specialties, we could also come up with that.”

Feedback and the Future 

As a two-time business owner, it should come as no surprise that Claudia knows what it takes to succeed—customer service.

“It’s all about customer service. It’s all about giving the clients what they want, and we’re good at that.”

Claudia discussed that when she first opened Memphis Tacos, customers kept asking for queso. Queso is not an authentic Mexican dish. Despite this, she added queso to the menu.

Claudia elaborated on her success by saying, “I’ll have you know, you’re only as good of a of a business as your employees and I have great—I have awesome employees.”

Claudia and Memphis Tacos have gotten great feedback so far.

“We’ve had really good feedback from our customers, and we want to grow,” she explained.

She has aspirations of growing Memphis Tacos by opening a food truck. With a food truck she could be more mobile and share Mexican food at festivals and events.

Final Thoughts

Memphis Tacos are 100% who they say they are—an authentic Mexican restaurant. Their food options are true to who they are. Their mouthwatering tacos are delicious on their own, but add a little bit of their house made salsa, and you’ve created an incredible taco to fill you up. And to top off your lunch, grab a churro to curb your sweet tooth.

Memphis Tacos is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the UTHSC food court 910 Madison Ave, Memphis, TN 38103. They also offer catering that goes beyond their regular hours.

Despite being born in Mexico and growing up in California, Claudia is a Memphian and wants to bring a crucial part of her to the city.

“I never thought I’d say I’m a Memphian, but I’m a Memphian. I’ve been here now for 13 years. I love this city. This city has been great to me and my family.”

Memphis Tacos gets 5 Forks up for Giving it a Chance and Succeeding

Arturo Azcarate wasn’t originally a chef, but it was always part of the plan to open a restaurant. Arturo is the owner and founder of Curry N Jerk, an authentic Caribbean restaurant. But his restaurant isn’t just about him. It’s about his mom, the community, and food he loves.

“I wanted to honor her,” he said.

Starting a Restaurant

Arturo opened Curry N Jerk in 2018 after making a childhood promise to his mother. He explained that growing up, his mother was a civilian chef at the military mess hall.

This was not an overnight dream for Arturo. Two years before retiring, he began slowly planning out the restaurant. When traveling, he would make note of things he saw, food he tasted, and what he experienced all to create his ideal restaurant, Curry N Jerk.

However, prior to opening Curry N Jerk, Arturo had no prior restaurant experience. In fact, he barely had a dining room to host guests, nor was he properly staffed. The only relevant experience was the time he spent with his mother at the military mess hall. He chuckled, “my mom fired me then.”

Then comes opening day.

“I didn’t know which way it was going to go…” he said. “We didn’t know what we had got ourselves into.”

By the end of opening day, he had “460-something” customers eat at Curry N Jerk.

Four months later tragedy strikes. There was a fire at the restaurant. Despite the setback, Arturo did not let that stop him. He took this time to finetune the menu and make Curry N Jerk come back better than before. And he did just that. Upon reopening, the restaurant had a similar turnout.

“That told me that we got a chance here,” he explained.

In 2023, Curry N Jerk moved down the street to a bigger building so they could expand their capacity and continue with great food and great service.

Authenticity, Consistency and Respect

There are so many factors that go into creating a restaurant that people love and want to come back to. Good food, of course, is a must. But it goes beyond that. Arturo even says that people don’t want to go back to restaurants that have good food but bad service. This explains some of the core values of Curry N Jerk—authenticity, consistency, and respect.

“I just wanted to bring attention to our home, culture, and also bring people together,” explained Arturo.

When customers walk through the doors at Curry N Jerk, they frequently become a repeat customer. So much so, Arturo has modified his menu and named items after his customers.

“They [returning customers] have been part of growing my menu to meet their needs because I know that they support every day that they can,”

Why these customers keep coming back boils down to two things 1) the food, and 2) the people. And that starts with the owner and his staff

“The most important thing to me is greeting people with respect,” Arturo said.

When a person walks through the door, he expects his staff to greet them with respect.

“I think we can count on our food, we can count on a lot of things, but I think that people need to be greeted because you never know what someone’s going through when they walk through the door,”

It is this environment that fosters authenticity and care paired with solid food that brings people back. Arturo has several customers that have been with them since the beginning.

“Watch this,” Arturo said. “Teresa, what does Ron get on his food?”  he shouts across the restaurant. Teresa, one of Arturo’s team members, begins to spout off Ron’s order and every substitution that may be necessary when Ron places an order.

“I’m an owner that’s engaged, with my customers,” he explained. “I want to know who they are. I also want to know what they like and what can we improve on.”

This authentic environment full of respect even trickles down to the customers themselves.

“You see customers talking to each other, sharing with each other,” Arturo confesses.

Food You Can Count On

“I always felt like our food brought people together,” Arturo starts. “I just noticed every time I brought someone to my home it [the food] was different for them and they loved it.”

The menu at Curry N Jerk is comprehensive yet authentic.

“It’s Caribbean food, but I represent the country I’m from, which is Panama.”

Classic Caribbean food on the menu includes: jerk chicken, oxtail, plantains, rice & peas, and so much more. They even have Rum Punch.

 Anything you get at Curry N Jerk is guaranteed to be flavorful. The spice from the jerk chicken dipped in their house made jerk sauce creates the perfect combination of sweet and spicy.  The oxtail is divine. The tender meat is juicy and just falls off the bone.

Arturo has high standards for his food. For him this food isn’t just food. When choosing his menu, it was personal.

“I just went with the soul… what we would consider soul food.”

While it is all Caribbean food and he does include Jamaican food, Arturo really tries to emphasize his roots and focus on Panamanian flavors.

“If you go to Panama, it’s a Latin culture mixed with the West Indies culture. You just build your flavors and your balance off of that,” he begins. “Jamaica, they have a different spice level than we have, but similar style of cooking.”

For people who have never had this kind of cooking and have never been to Curry N Jerk, Arturo recommends bringing your friends and getting some dishes to split.

“I think people need to do more shareables, learn which one you kind of like, and then from there build out your entrée.”

Curry N Jerk has two unique flights—a seafood flight and a meat flight. These options are perfect for people looking to taste the variety that comes with Caribbean food. Let’s say you try the flight and are having trouble deciding which chicken you want. Curry or Jerk? No worries. They’ve got a combo where you can have both curry and jerk.

Features and Final Thoughts

There’s more than meets the eye at Curry N Jerk. If you peer downstairs, there is a whole world to continue to immerse you into the culture and enjoy being social. Downstairs is what they call the 507 Lux Lounge. Azcarte created this lounge as a place to invite people to continue the conversation past their dining experience. They have social hours with cocktail specials, and often times there is a live band.

Another unique feature at Curry N Jerk is their new Healthy Hearts Catering and Meal Prep. After struggling with heart problems, Arturo found a new desire to change up his eating yet maintain delicious and flavor-packed food.

Curry N Jerk has food many of us have never had the pleasure of enjoying. Arturo described experiences of a few customers who have never been to the Caribbean and never had Jamaican or Panamanian food until they visited Curry N Jerk. He explained that these customers were inspired to go to Panama or Jamacia, but often come back and tell Arturo, ‘I told them they need to come to Curry N Jerk.’ That’s because Curry N Jerk is authentic in every sense of the word—from the food to the way they interact with the people around them.

Curry N Jerk is located at 150 Monroe Ave Memphis, TN 38103. You can visit them Tuesday-Thursday from 4:00 p.m. to 10 p.m. Or Fridays and Saturdays from 4:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. They have happy hour Tuesday-Thursday from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. To view their menu, learn more about the restaurant, lounge or Healthy Hearts Catering and Meal Planning, visit their website. www.currynjerk.com

Curry N Jerk gets 5 forks up for authenticity.