Jeff Colgan came to North Carolina with a mission. The Arizona native had just spent a year and a half in New York City and wanted a change of pace.
In 2007, Colgan moved to Greensboro, started working at LabCorp in Burlington and, three years later, started classes at Elon University in the MBA program. He graduated in 2012 and began his next mission: opening a restaurant that filled a gap he felt was missing during his time at Elon.
The Mission Taqueria-Cantina opened Oct. 14. At 961-A Burlington Ave. in Gibsonville, the restaurant is located right next to Phoenix Nails and a bit past The Fat Frogg Bar & Grill and Simply Thai and Sushi.
Creating a labor of love
The Gibsonville location of The Mission Taqueria-Cantina isn’t much of a hike for Elon students. It is only about a mile from the downtown area of Elon.
The inspiration for the restaurant came from the lack of authentic, unique food in the area. During his time working in Burlington and studying at Elon, Colgan noticed that he would have to go to a lot of fast food or chain restaurants for lunch or drinks after classes with his friends in the MBA program.
“There were very few options, and they were kind of poor, in my opinion,” Colgan said. “There are only a handful of really independent restaurants doing something creative and unique.”
That’s when Colgan realized that there was a need for a place students could go without the chain restaurant vibe.
Elon played a role in more than just the location for the Mission Taqueria-Cantina. Colgan was able to use the skills he learned in the MBA program and apply them toward his dream of opening a restaurant.
Diners experience all the hard work Colgan has put into his restaurant as they sit at tables and in chairs that he built and finished by hand. He has impacted every aspect of the restaurant, right down to the computer system that connects the orders to the kitchen.
The restaurant is colorful and open, with orange walls and high ceilings. The restaurant’s name is written on the bar in a handmade-tiled pattern. Lights are hung in such a way to create a dynamic restaurant atmosphere — open and cool during the day to warm and fun during the night.
“It truly is a home-built business, with my own ideas and creativity put into it,” Colgan said. “Everything is hand-done. The floors, the bar, the tile work. It was a labor of love.”
Colgan set out to create an environment different from other restaurants and dining experiences around Elon’s campus. He wanted to create a space for students and community members to come after a long week of school and work to socialize with their friends.
“I think it had a very hip and trendy vibe with all of the lights and unique handcrafted tables and chairs,” said sophomore Jessie Boak. “I felt very comfortable and cool.”
Living a newer pace
Though it was a drastic transition to go from working as a director at LabCorp, a clinical medical laboratory and diagnostic center, to open up a restaurant, the latter was always in the back of Colgan’s mind, even as an undergraduate at Arizona State University.
The position as a restaurant owner is fitting for Colgan’s fast-paced, dynamic lifestyle derived from his time in New York City.
His personable demeanor is obvious from the second customers enter The Mission Taqueria-Cantina, as is his business training. Colgan goes up to every customer personally to make sure they are enjoying their meal and welcome them. For the first week, he watched the kitchen intensely to make sure each dish that left was correct in presentation and portion size before it went to the tables of his very first customers.
The Mission Taqueria-Cantina is a warm restaurant with large, open tables that foster a social environment. The bar is a fun, lively place to sit and has a lot of drink options listed in front of the diner. There is a long table in the middle of room that Colgan calls the “community table”.
Both the bar and the community table are perfect places to eat and watch television, which plays major sporting games or features pictures of daily specials, like churros with a chocolate dip.
Dipping into Spanish cuisine
The food at The Mission Taqueria-Cantina is an extension of the warm vibe of the room. The menu features a wide range of Mexican, Southwestern and Spanish styles with most dishes incorporating attributes of all three.
For appetizers options, there are chips and a trio of dips, chips and guacamole and the house queso, a warm, melted blend of three different cheeses. The chips also have a seasoning on them that pairs nicely with any of the dips, especially the black bean dip.
There are a lot of different choices for entrees as well.
With a chopped salad, tacos and a Spanish take on shrimp and grits, there are a variety of meals for every mood.
“I thought the food was very good,” Boak said. “It was very different from any taqueria place I have ever been to before. It was just very unique.”
The Mission’s arroz con pollo — one of Colgan’s favorite dishes on the menu — has a nice char-grilled flavor and is served on a bed of chorizo fried rice, which is a different take on Asian fried rice. With egg, beans, peas and onions, the makeup is almost identical, but the replacement of soy sauce with chorizo flavoring elevates the rice to a fresh, new level. Queso is also poured over the chicken to create a creamy element.
“The food is adventurous and delicious with its spices and cheese toppings,” said sophomore Lauren DeFranco. “Overall, I enjoyed my experience at The Mission. Also, the atmosphere of the restaurant is warm and inviting. The staff is friendly and welcoming.”
All the food is made fresh in the kitchen Colgan designed and put together himself. The chef works to create all of the homemade sauces and food, which can be seen on Instagram under the geotag of the restaurant.
Colgan posted a video of a chocolate ganache sauce created to compliment homemade churros.
The restaurant is more than just an eating establishment for Colgan: it is a place that represents his hard work and the dreams he’s had since childhood. This is especially evident in the name.
“This is my personal mission. It is something I’ve wanted to do since I was young. I didn’t know at what point in my career I would do it,” Colgan said. “I was getting tired of the corporate world and I needed to push myself to do something new.”
Check out The Mission Taqueria-Cantina, open Wednesdays through Sunday for dinner and for lunch on the weekends. Also look them up on Twitter, @themissiontaco, Instagram, @themissiontacos, and on Facebook.