Tacos 4 Life owners Austin and Ashton Samuelson have announced a new restaurant concept that’s coming July 19 to 2235 Dave Ward Drive: Dõblé Mexican Café.  

The concept has been an idea the couple and business partners have had for a few years now, as they considered how to further the mission of Tacos 4 Life — providing meals through Feed My Starving Children through every meal purchased at the restaurant — while providing food the community loved, Austin Samuleson said.  

The end-product is a restaurant focused on the basics that have made Tacos 4 Life a staple for many — queso, burritos, bowls, salads, and tacos — which will in turn create the opportunity to provide more meals for children across the world. To date, Tacos 4 Life has provided more than 30.4 million meals across the globe through its sales. 

“Dõblé brings together a more simplified menu with a smaller footprint concept,” Samuelson said. “It allows us to go into smaller spaces and keep price points down for our guests.” The majority of its entrees will be $10 and under.  

“We’re excited for that,” Samuelson said.  

A Familiar Location 

The Dave Ward Drive location has been a breeding ground for previous ideas from the Samuelsons. It was home to their first restaurant concept, Pitza 42, and its more recently, Tacos 4 Life. Now, it will welcome another new concept to Conway.  

“We’re pumped to do another restaurant in this location,” Samuelson said. “There’s a comfort level and a nostalgia there for us; that’s where it all started.” 

Another important part of starting Dõblé in Conway for the Samuelsons is being at home amongst friends and family. 

“There is something important to us to start here in Conway in that location,” Samuelson said. “This is home. We’re excited to bring it there.” 

Samuelson said they also see this as a great opportunity to reconnect with the University of Central Arkansas.  

“We see Dõblé having a broad appeal and a price point that will tap into Gen Z, so we hope to connect with UCA,” he said. 

‘We Wanted It To Have Meaning’ 

The Samuelsons worked hard to come up with a name for the new concept to no avail. 

“We were getting frustrated because we wanted it to have meaning, and be something short and punchy,” Samuelson said. “We kind of walked away from it for a while and then Ashton felt God planted double on her heart.” 

The Spanish word for double is dõblé. It seemed perfect for a business that aims to provide meals in more than one way. The restaurant’s tagline is “Eat Good. Do Good. Double Good.” 

“There’s a double purpose and meaning,” Samuelson said. “We frustrate every marketing agency we have ever worked with because they ask, ‘Is the main thing the food or kids?’ and the answer is yes.” 

A Bright Future of Tacos 4 Life 

Tacos 4 Life is set to open at least three new locations by the end of 2023 with another seven in the pipeline. 

“Tacos 4 Life is doing great,” Samuelson said. “We want people to know this concept is not intended to replace Tacos 4 Life in our goal to end starvation. We believe Dõblé can run parallel in our mission of feeding kids.” 

Samuelson described Tacos 4 Life as the “battleship” of their work with franchises spread out across nearly 10 states. The couple see the same future for Dõblé. 

“The goal is something we can plug into our franchise system,” Samuelson said. “We are big proponents of franchises, and we love our franchisees. This can be an additional opportunity for them, and for possible, new partners.”