We opened a taco shop because Meta is building an AI data center nearby. Now 40% of our business is tied to it.

This as-told-to effort is based connected a speech pinch Tim Allen, whose family opened Holy Tacos successful Rayville, Louisiana, successful April 2025. Construction for Meta's largest-ever AI information halfway is underway successful Holly Ridge, an unincorporated organization astir 10 miles from Rayville.

Rayville has been a mini organization my full life, and it's been successful diminution complete the past respective years.

We person a batch of group whose children are moving out, and they usually don't travel back. Growing up, downtown Rayville had aggregate businesses, hardware stores, and clothing stores. One by one, they unopen down until only a mates of stores were left.

Since Meta's announcement, we've seen aged businesses revitalize and caller ones open, including ours. We opened Holy Tacos because Meta was coming to town.

My dada owned a building company, truthful I spent 20 years moving the family building business. Toward the extremity of those 20 years, we purchased an aged Burger King that turned into a Huddle House. We turned it into a pizza place, but when I went into ministry, I conscionable didn't person time.

I sold my shares to my sister. She and my dada still ain that edifice downtown. I swore I'd ne'er get backmost into the nutrient business, but we saw an opportunity to thief capable a need. We opened successful April of 2025.

I'm very delicate to some sides of the AI information halfway debate. The economical maturation and improvement present is undeniable, and truthful is the tension. There's tension among people whose lives are being changed because they are beside it and they didn't want it. Holly Ridge is the sanction of the colony wherever the information halfway is being built. It's a mini small agrarian farming community.

Now, you've sewage each this system retired location that's growing, which is why immoderate of them are upset because their quiet measurement of life is now over. There's particulate from construction, and there's sound each nighttime long.

But immoderate of the roads that were retired there, which were substandard, are now blacktop roads. That's a large deal. We didn't person reddish lights retired there. Now we do.

Holy Tacos

When we first had the idea for Holy Tacos, we thought we were going to unfastened the nutrient truck and beryllium retired connected Meta's site. It was truthful early connected successful the process that they were like, "No, you can't travel retired here. We don't person anyplace for you to group up retired here. It's dangerous." We were like, "Uh-oh, now what do we do?"

There was a vacant building nearby. We were cooking Holy Tacos for the first clip publically for our church. The feline who owns the building was helping, and he ate immoderate of the food. I sewage to talking to him, and he conscionable held his manus retired like, "It's yours."

The nutrient motortruck has 5 roll-up doors, truthful we put it wrong the building and fundamentally bolted it to the wall. That helped america go a full-fledged edifice that tin besides supply catering.

Catering

We had 2 catering orders precocious successful 2 different directions. One was successful Monroe, which is astir 20 minutes from here, and past adjacent week we're going retired connected Meta's site. We've been retired to the man camps, which are the impermanent lodging for building workers, took our mobile setup, and cooked for them. They person a institution that picks up the food, truthful they will bid from us, and they do it anyplace from erstwhile a period up to 4 times a month. Catering costs anyplace from $4,000 to $7,000, depending connected the size.

We person a bully section following, but erstwhile you adhd the catering, astir apt 40% of our monthly business is straight related to Meta.

Our slow days now are arsenic large arsenic our engaged days were before. We've decidedly grown. You'll travel successful and spot a substance of some Meta workers and locals. You'll person lawyers and attorneys successful location eating, and past you'll person group successful their precocious vests for Meta. It's each walks of life.

Life aft Meta

Businesses that were struggling to make ends meet are now prospering aliases opened up aggregate locations. New businesses person travel in, and a batch of them are owned by local people.

The money is decidedly flowing into our parish, too. Obviously, the catering will slow down erstwhile construction's done, but now we're opening to cater for group different than the awesome contractors retired there. I deliberation things for illustration that will grow, and the section businesses built during this clip will prolong us.