New women-owned taco restaurant is opening in Sacramento area — and it’s helping nonprofits
A woman-owned taco restaurant with a charitable mission is slated to to open in the Sacramento area this spring.
Masa Masa will be at 2310 Pleasant Grove Blvd. in the Village Westpark Shopping Center in Roseville.
The restaurant doesn’t have an exact opening date yet, due to construction delays.
However, Masa Masa’s owners — Ashlie Millington, her wife Emily Torres and their business partner Julie Hilton — are hoping for April.
“We started with the concept of bringing a small woman-owned taco shop to West Park,” said Torres, who lives in the West Park neighborhood with her wife. “We knew we needed other food options around here.”
Masa Masa’s food may be familiar to fans of Roseville’s Taco Throwdown.
The restaurant’s owners won the annual competition in 2023, competing under the name Tacoholics. However, they had to change their business name to Masa Masa after discovering that a company on the East Coast had already trademarked the name Tachoholics.
What’s on the menu at new Roseville restaurant?
Masa Masa’s menu is currently being finalized ahead of the grand opening, Torres said, but it will include 16 different taco options.
Menu options will include birria ramen, bulgogi, Korean beef and fried avocado tacos, according to photos posted on the Masa Masa website.
In addition to tacos, the menu will include items such as elotes and nachos.
How is Masa Masa supporting charities?
For every taco purchased, Masa Masa will donate a portion of the profits to a particular charity, Torres said.
Each taco on the menu will be associated with a different charity.
Torres said the business owners came up with the idea when Millington was diagnosed by cancer.
“My wife actually was diagnosed with leukemia, and so it put a halt on what Masa Masa was at the time,” Torres said. “After she was diagnosed, and she went through her rounds of chemo(therapy) and a bone marrow transplant, we started the second half and the most important part of Masa Masa, which is the ‘Be Kind’ movement.”
Currently there are eight local and national charities and nonprofits that will benefit from donations from Masa Masa, including Gigi’s Playhouse in Sacramento, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in New York, Placer LGBTQ+ Center in Rocklin and the Pacific Whale Foundation in Maui, Hawaii.
The owners are looking for an additional eight groups to partner with.
When will the restaurant be open?
Masa Masa will be open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
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