Life’s work leads to new Bloomfield taco shop
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
For Zack Shell, it turns out the soft-opening launch of his new business, Baby Loves Tacos on Liberty Avenue in Bloomfield that is the culmination of the 35year-old’s life’s work to date, is only the second-most exhilarating and stressful thing to happen to him this week.
He’s getting married today, too.
The Forest Hills native and Woodland Hills graduate (he was a standout soccer player there) spent 15 years in Philadelphia, first as a student at Temple, then working in the restaurant industry around the city, including a few well-regarded taco and burrito joints. He boomeranged back home with his fiance and young son a year and a half ago, intent on bringing his taco prowess to his hometown.
“We did really well. We were just at a point professionally and as a family that we decided let’s go for it, let’s do it. We sold our house and moved out here,” he said. “Pittsburgh has changed so much — It was time.”
He did pop-ups, private events and catering while he scouted the city. Provenance struck on a drive up Liberty Avenue. He saw a vacant storefront, pulled his car in front of Tessaro’s and called the number on the sign. The building’s owner was on site. They talked for an hour, and adeal was quickly inked.
“It’s been really awesome,” he said. “I had a pretty clear idea of what I wanted to do food-wise.”
The name was meant to have a fun connotation — evoking an image a tyke with a taco or the old dice game exhortation — baby needs a new pair of shoes!
“It’s an accessible place. You can bring your kids here and we’ll feed ‘em, no problem, or you can bring your girlfriend,” he said. “Our goal is to make food we’d eat. I won’t make anything that I wouldn’t eat. In terms of flavor profiles, I am not attempting to be a traditional authentic Mexican style taco place.”
He hopes to develop a taco truck or cart concept, and he’s partnered with a nonprofit after-school meals program in Wilkinsburg.
“Our hope is to have a few revenue streams but also to have a few different things that we’re doing in the community as well.”
• Winning $1 million on a network reality show definitely has that cool factor. But Nick Spangler discovered the cachet only got him so far.
Currently in Pittsburgh with the national tour of “An American in Paris” and now an established musical theater presence, Mr. Spangler is gone but not forgotten from “The Amazing Race” scene. He’s the guy who destroyed the competition and won season 13 in 2008 with his sister, Starr.
Calling it “an interesting footnote” to his career, Mr. Spangler said he has walked into auditions where the reaction to his reality TV turn was, “Oh, cool. Oh, great. Now what are you going to sing for us?
“You still have to prove yourself and get cast.”
He has been on Broadway in “The Book of Mormon,” “It Shoulda Been You” and “Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella,” and off-Broadway in “The Fantasticks.”
As Henri in “An American in Paris,” Mr. Spangler plays a Frenchman who is part of a complicated love scenario. He has some major vocal showcases, including “I’ve Got Rhythm” and “I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise.” The show runs through Sunday at the Benedum Center.
When the show was in Portland, Ore., Mr. Spangler did his own little stroll down memory lane. CBS always begins and ends “Race” in the United States, and in season 13, the final pit stop was Portland.
“It was the first time in 10 years I’d been back there, and I sort of went on my own little journey of walking in the footsteps of our final ‘Race’ leg.
“I went to the Bridge of the Gods, where we zip-lined down to Thunder Island, and where we went to do the final memory challenge.”
He and his sister, who now works for the tech company Box in their native California, won a then-record seven of the last 11 legs of the race.
They were cast when he was 22 and she was 21. They were young and quick, racing across five continents to win the grand prize. Occasionally, Mr. Spangler said,