Dining
BY MARY KATHERINE SHAPIRO
Elote cups ($6) were the rst menu item at King Kups.
The chicken nacho libre ($10) comes with chips, cheddar cheese, nacho cheese, chicken, rice, green sauce, Valentina sauce, sour cream, cilantro and queso fresco.
PHOTOS BY MARY KATHERINE SHAPIRO COMMUNITY IMPACT
King Kups food truck serves elote, tacos in McKinney
asada fries for $7 on Fridays. Frank Hernandez’s daughter Lore, who is a partner in the restaurant, said one of her favorite things about King Kups is the way people connect with the food. “Even just last week, I had people come up and be like, ‘Oh my gosh, you guys remind me of home’ and that makes me so happy,” Lore Hernandez said. What makes it unique The team at King Kups has developed a strong sense of community and there are customers who attended the restaurant’s grand opening who are still regulars eight years later, Frank Hernandez said. “We [give] to our community as much as we take from it,” he said. “We feed everyone, no questions asked.” Hernandez said he tries to meet the needs he sees in his community, like sending the King Kups food truck out during winter storms to provide co ee and hot meals, as well as feeding children for free when SNAP bene ts lapsed during a government shutdown in November. Community members also helped support the restaurant after a Thanksgiving Day break-in that cost the businesses around $10,000 during an already slow season. “The community came together and put together a GoFundMe and helped us get back on our feet,” Hernandez said.
Retired DJ Frank Hernandez said Dallas nightlife inspired him to open King Kups. He noticed people frequently ended a night out at a local taco spot and he wanted to bring that fun atmosphere to McKinney with a food truck. Hernan- dez and his daughter Ariel Hernandez opened King Kups in 2018 primarily selling elote cups, and the menu has since expanded to include carne asada fries, churros, tacos and more. “It turned from a passion project to an actual business without losing the passion along the way,” Hernandez said. On the menu King Kups’ menu “blends the best of Tex-Mex and California-style tacos together,” Hernandez said. Popular menu items include: • Birria taco: a corn tortilla with mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, shredded meat, onion, cilantro, green sauce and lime juice • Carne asada fries: French fries with cheddar cheese, nacho cheese, carne asada, ranch, Valen- tina sauce, cilantro and queso fresco • Chicken bacon ranch taco: a corn tortilla with mozzarella cheese, grilled chicken, bacon, onion, cilantro, green sauce, ranch, lime juice and queso fresco The restaurant o ers weekly specials, such as Taco Tuesdays—where all tacos are $2—and carne
The team at King Kups creates a fun atmosphere with music, games and events like tamale eating contests.
Frank Hernandez opened King Kups in 2018.
S. CENTRAL EXPY.
75
W. VIRGINIA ST.
S. CENTRAL EXPY.
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202 N. Central Expressway, McKinney Facebook: King Kups
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MCKINNEY EDITION
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