This downtown Macon restaurant has football-sized burritos and other trendy dishes

Editor’s note: This article is part of our semimonthly Foodie Friday series where reporters Justin Baxley and Jenna Eason dine at local restaurants and review the food and experience.

Ricky’s Taco Shop opened in downtown Macon in late 2019, moving from its former Central Park location on Mercer University Drive after years of strong support — the stand regularly sold out in a few hours. But the business actually started in a Milledgeville prison where Ricky Perez, a California native, was spotted by a hungry co-worker eating a massive burrito.

“I made him one and he told everyone I sold them for five bucks and that’s how I got started,” Perez said. “The light bulb just turned on. I was in the wrong business… I sat at home for a year getting my plan together. I sold one of my trucks, my Harley that I had and I saved up enough money.”

During that year of planning, Perez was selling tacos on the corner of Houston Lake Road in Warner Robins before moving into the old Central Park location on Mercer University Drive. His big burritos and authentic tacos went viral in Middle Georgia as he regularly sold out before closing time. After nearly two years, Perez got the chance to move into his current location on Cherry Street in downtown Macon.

“The first three months we were here, it was beyond anything I ever imagined it was really going to be,” he said. “It was non-stop traffic, all day, everyday… It was amazing, then this situation hit.”

COVID-19 impacted Perez as a new downtown business owner when restaurants were forced to shut down. He’s struggled to regain his pre-pandemic level of business. But he’s persevering, thankful for the customers who have continued to support him.

“It has been rough… I have worked too hard to get my ship running. I got holes and patches all over my ship right now but I got plenty of buckets and we are just throwing out water trying to stay afloat,” Perez said. “We are just dealing with it. Everyone is hurting.”

Burritos

When you glance at the menu and see burritos and quesadillas for over $10, don’t panic. These are not normal-sized items. It is as if someone’s science experiment went wrong and caused the items to grow about three times its normal size.

Ricky’s burrito is stuffed full with beef, pork and chicken along with rice, beans and other various toppings. It is about two-and-half pounds of food — the size of a small football. But the size isn’t the only thing that sets this burrito apart; it’s tasty too.

The three types of meat work well together and really gives you a sample of which you might like the best. I ordered this the first time I ever went Ricky’s and decided I really liked their al pastor (pork) meat. My go-to order now is just the al pastor burrito, unless I am really hungry then it is Ricky’s burrito. Ricky doesn’t go light on the meat. One of the benefits to a burrito this large is it typically makes a couple of meals.

Tacos

Ricky recommends that first-time diners give his tacos a try. He has fish, shrimp, chicken, steak, chorizo and pork. He also does various specials including his birria tacos, which have taken off as a trendy dish over the last year. It is typically a taco made with short rib meat or barbacoa and drenched in a sauce. Ricky serves his with a dippable sauce on the side to submerge the taco. These tacos were the star of the meal. The sauce really took the flavor to another level. The meat was tender and full of flavor. Jenna grabbed the shrimp taco and she said it had a kick to it and the slaw served on top add a little relief but even it had some spice to it.

Overall the menu at Ricky’s isn’t big and it is pretty straight forward. While it may not be a giant menu with tons of options, what they serve they do it better than anyone else.

COVID-19 Policies

Ricky’s Taco Shop doesn’t have any specific policies but encourages people to take proper precautions when entering the restaurant. Macon does have a mask ordinance in place unless a business specifically opts out with signage indicating that it has opted out.

Ricky’s Taco Shop

Location: 518 Cherry St. Macon.

Hours: Monday-Friday 11 a.m.- 3 p.m.

Price range: $5-$15

This story was originally published September 18, 2020 at 5:00 AM.