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Food Trucks

Taco truck opens while stuck in traffic, serves grateful crowd of Seattle drivers

By Fox News
Published | Updated
traffic on street istock

(iStock)

If you ever find yourself stuck in traffic near Seattle, pray that the Tacos El Tajin truck is idling nearby.

On Monday, after getting trapped in a traffic jam on Interstate 5, the popular taco truck decided to open up shop on the freeway for hungry motorists.

Around 10 a.m, a semitruck hauling propane flipped over on a southbound stretch of the interstate. Authorities reportedly shut down traffic in both directions following the incident, trapping both cars, trucks and the El Tajin team in stand-still traffic.

That’s when the mobile eatery decided to make the best of a bad situation.

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Rachael McQuade, a driver who, along with her husband, was stuck in the gridlock for three hours, told The Seattle Times that she first realized El Tajin was open when she got out of her car to investigate the accident.

“I got out and was walking around, and I see this lady walking back to her car with a to-go box,” said McQuade, who proceeded to take photos and video of the truck before dropping by for a bite.

“What do you do in a time like that? You got to make the best of it, right?” McQuade added.

Taking her own advice, McQuade says she ordered two chicken and two steak tacos before returning to her husband with the food.

But McQuade wasn’t the only commuter offering kudos to El Tajin. On Twitter, fellow food trucks and even a local radio station commended the staff for serving in bumper-to-bumper traffic:

Authorities were eventually able to turn the vehicles around and clear the highway, though traffic didn’t resume until 6 p.m., when a few south- and north-bound lanes began to reopen. Wintry conditions, including precipitation and wet roads, reportedly also hampered efforts to clear the interstate.

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Tacos El Tajin’s owner, Thomas Lopez, told the Seattle Times that he ended up missing their lunchtime stop in the South Lake Union neighborhood, but said he welcomes new customers wherever he is.

“We are ready to serve food, everywhere,” said Lopez.