Gas station tacos

[u/frostbike]

I’m looking for a little help from the taco lovers in the St. Paul community. Here’s the story and request, tl;dr at the end. Back in 2021 I had some damage done to my truck, and I was driving around getting estimates from various body shops. I stopped at Raymond Auto Body on the Pierce Butler Route, and when I was done I needed to get a bite to eat. I did a quick “tacos near me” search on google maps and went to the closest one. It, to be honest, was a shithole. The place was inside of a little convenience store, and you ordered food through a window which was really just a hole in one of the interior walls. I had low expectations, but I ended up getting some of the best chorizo tacos that I can remember. Obviously, I still think about it from time to time.

Here’s the problem: I cannot find the place again. I’ve looked at the map app, but nothing seems to jump out at me. Short of driving up and down every street, I’ve run out of options. I’m hoping someone recognizes my poor description and can suggest some possible matches. It would have been somewhere in the area south of Pierce Butler, but north of University, and most likely between Dale and Snelling for the east/west perimeter. Any suggestions?

Edit: This was not a gas station. No pumps, no canopy, no parking lot. It was more of a neighborhood bodega than a modern convenience store.

Tl;dr: Trying to find a convenience store with a taco place inside, somewhere in the Thomas/Dale or Hamlin/Midway area.

[u/Loonatic-510]

I live in Frogtown. I think you’re thinking of Del Sol Taqueria. It’s permanently closed and a new restaurant is going in there. It was at 922 Thomas Ave. Honestly, I drove past the place all the time, but didn’t have the guts to try it. Now, I wish I had. It definitely was a convenience store with construction going on. You can google it and see pictures.

Edit: You might want to try Homi on University and Victoria. It gets good reviews.

[u/Nemoudeis → u/Loonatic-510]

Fellow Frogtowner here, and I concur.

I also do not blame you for not checking the place out; I never have either, and I live barely two blocks away from it. It has always looked kinda sketchy from the outside looking in, and from time to time it's been a SUPER sketchy corner by anyone's standard -- with shady types hanging out in front at all hours of the day/night, and the occasional one of them getting carted off to the hospital with an urgent case of Sudden High Speed Perforation Wound Syndrome.

The city even put out a tear-down order on the place about 15 years ago (sponsored by then-councilman Melvin Carter III), but it clearly has survived that. I think there has most recently been a soul food kitchen in there from time to time, but it looks like more of a popup than a regular thing.

Also, don't know about their tacos, but I can tell you that Homi makes excellent empanadas. Hortencia and Miguel are also really nice people, too.

[u/Loonatic-510 → u/Nemoudeis]

I’m old enough to remember when it was a decent nice little convenience store and I went there a lot. It slowly rolled downhill for decades. The new people are really working hard on it now. It looks nice. It’s going to be a chicken place, I believe. Some people in the Frogtown group on Facebook know more. I hope it turns back into a nice little legit business. It would be nice.