Good people of Ballard, too long have you been living deprived. A simple pleasure you may not have known you were missing has at last been bestowed upon you.

In a divine union, the Ballard Liquor Store and El Taco Loco food truck have conspired to make the dream of purchasing a liter of Jack and fresh, ready-to-scarf tacos in the same establishment a reality.

This is the America our forefathers envisioned.

The mole merchants, whose taco truck is typically parked outside a smoke shop on 15th Avenue and 80th Street Northwest, now have a second outpost inside the booze shop on the western end of Market Street. A pop-up kitchen, which is separately owned from the truck, now anchors the southwest corner of the store, peddling $2 tacos and other tortilla-wrapped fare. The liquor store taco shop recently celebrated its grand opening with a sign that read “Grand Opening.”

The menu consists of pretty standard Mexican dishes, with mole enchiladas, burritos as big as a size 10 sneaker, etc. But it’s the $2 tacos that play to our value-minded sensibilities. Take your pick of the usual proteins, though we’ll endorse the succulent pork marinade topped with pineapple for a little sweet and spicy combo. Place your order at the counter with a sixer under your arm or stroll up to the window facing Market Street en route to the Ballard Locks.

Will these thrifty, on-the-fly tacos change your life? Probably not. (They’re just tacos, dude.) Plus, Ballard already has its share of great Mexican joints, from tried and true Senor Moose to fellow food truckers-gone-brick-and-mortar El Camion. Hell, there’s a Taco Time 50 yards away.

But the marriage of these two magnificent vices—liquor and takeout tacos—could help heal our divided nation. Or at least come in handy during football season.

El Taco Loco / Ballard Liquor Store
2804 NW Market St.