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Building CommuniTAY: Taylor & Maya Mason’s Taco Empire - Part 1
In this episode of The Big Dig Chicago, we sit down with Taylor and Maya Mason, the couple behind Taylor's Tacos Chicago, a Black- and LGBTQ+-owned brand that has served over half a million tacos across the city.
West Side native and Whitney Young High School alum Taylor Mason first discovered street tacos while attending Pepperdine University and brought that LA inspiration back home to Chicago. Maya Mason — a graduate of Chicago Academy for the Arts and Columbia College Chicago — added culinary artistry rooted in a family legacy of food and hospitality.
Together, they officially launched Taylor’s Tacos Chicago in 2018. Now operating out of The Hatchery Chicago, they specialize in catering, staffed events, and bringing the parTAY wherever the community gathers — with a food truck debuting in March 2026.
This is a story about love, hustle, flavor, and building communiTAY — one taco at a time.
About the Big Dig Chicago
The Big Dig is a whimsical journey in discovering unique and extraordinary Black Chicagoans hidden from view who are busy being, doing, and choosing to live outside the box and practicing the personal motto, “I’m not an anomaly, I’m just doing me.”
Host & Show Info
Hosts: Beuloria Williams & Juelle Daley
About the Hosts: Beuloria, a west side Chicago native turned global explorer, launched her media career hosting music shows from alternative rock to jazz at stations like WDGC and WDCB. She's co-hosted an op-ed podcast, led a multicultural Meetup group in Chicago, and brings her passion for culture to life through food, music, and dance. Her career in international trade and food manufacturing has taken her across five continents—blending global insight with local flavor.
Juelle hails from the east coast by way of the Caribbean. She is a world traveler, an independent curator, art consultant, writer, filmmaker and educator with a passion for curating visual arts and cultural productions. She is driven to make the Arts available and accessible to everyone who just like her seeks after beauty and the sublime. Juelle is a French-trained urban designer/planner who decamped from Paris to Chicago after seven years. She has over a decade of experience in higher education and arts administration.
Instagram: @The_Big_Dig_Chicago
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By Juelle Daley and Beuloria WilliamsIn this episode of The Big Dig Chicago, we sit down with Taylor and Maya Mason, the couple behind Taylor's Tacos Chicago, a Black- and LGBTQ+-owned brand that has served over half a million tacos across the city.
West Side native and Whitney Young High School alum Taylor Mason first discovered street tacos while attending Pepperdine University and brought that LA inspiration back home to Chicago. Maya Mason — a graduate of Chicago Academy for the Arts and Columbia College Chicago — added culinary artistry rooted in a family legacy of food and hospitality.
Together, they officially launched Taylor’s Tacos Chicago in 2018. Now operating out of The Hatchery Chicago, they specialize in catering, staffed events, and bringing the parTAY wherever the community gathers — with a food truck debuting in March 2026.
This is a story about love, hustle, flavor, and building communiTAY — one taco at a time.
About the Big Dig Chicago
The Big Dig is a whimsical journey in discovering unique and extraordinary Black Chicagoans hidden from view who are busy being, doing, and choosing to live outside the box and practicing the personal motto, “I’m not an anomaly, I’m just doing me.”
Host & Show Info
Hosts: Beuloria Williams & Juelle Daley
About the Hosts: Beuloria, a west side Chicago native turned global explorer, launched her media career hosting music shows from alternative rock to jazz at stations like WDGC and WDCB. She's co-hosted an op-ed podcast, led a multicultural Meetup group in Chicago, and brings her passion for culture to life through food, music, and dance. Her career in international trade and food manufacturing has taken her across five continents—blending global insight with local flavor.
Juelle hails from the east coast by way of the Caribbean. She is a world traveler, an independent curator, art consultant, writer, filmmaker and educator with a passion for curating visual arts and cultural productions. She is driven to make the Arts available and accessible to everyone who just like her seeks after beauty and the sublime. Juelle is a French-trained urban designer/planner who decamped from Paris to Chicago after seven years. She has over a decade of experience in higher education and arts administration.
Instagram: @The_Big_Dig_Chicago