Matias Gutknecht ’07 and his business partner opened Taco Uprising in Denver in June 2023. The restaurant is a Mexican-inspired taqueria y cocteleria offering breakfast and day tacos, coffee, and agave-forward cocktails and mocktails. But what really sets them apart from many other eateries is the innovative foundation of their mission. Gutknecht’s company is committed to community impact and sustainability, putting purpose before profits.
“We do things differently and aren’t afraid to tackle new challenges while relentlessly pursuing taco perfection,” says Gutknecht. “We love tacos and believe that we can change the world, one meal, and one taco at a time. We’re passionate about people, good food, memorable experiences, sustainability, and community impact.”
Gutknecht has always been in and around the food-service and hospitality industry. Growing up, he was impressed with how his parents fostered an environment that allowed people to voice their opinions in their business. As Gutknecht got older, entrepreneurship became a passion of his. After graduating from CC, he tried a lot of different things in food and athletics, but it always came back to building teams and creating brands. He wrote the business plan for Taco Uprising while getting his MBA at CU Denver. The focus was to use the business to balance purpose and profit to positively impact the community and the planet.
“The environment and our community are our stakeholders,” Gutknecht says.
The restaurant world has historically centered around wasteful and outdated practices. Gutknecht wants to lead the charge in the industry to save our planet. “We can fight climate change, positively impact communities, feed, and bring people together through the shared love of food,” he says.
Taco Uprising embodies the thinking that the planet doesn’t need a few people doing things perfectly but benefits more from the majority of people making incremental changes every year. “That’s how we break the climate paralysis that most of us feel and start making significant progress toward a better planet for future generations,” says Gutknecht.
The CC grad has spent a lot of time fostering a strong community at his restaurant, something that he leaned the value of during his time on campus. “CC is a very tightknit community which is a direct parallel to what I’m trying to build now,” Gutknecht says. “That mindset is a core component of my experience at CC.”
He also attributes a lot of his inspiration to trying new things to his time on the Block Plan. “It starts with having an idea and there can be tons of iterations along the way,” he says. “It comes from the confidence and willingness to put yourself out there that I witnessed with my peers and faculty.”
Gutknecht understands that a lot of people find themselves in a position of, ‘I’m just one person, what can I do?’ And he knows that this paralysis can be daunting. But he likes to think that one small change can start to add up. One person, one business, does have the ability to make a change. And Taco Uprising has also partnered with other passionate, like-minded businesses that care deeply about sustainability and community impact, like Compost Colorado, We Don’t Waste, Scratch, Deliver Zero, Terracycle, and Eat Denver.
“We have such an incredible planet and world. We’re doing a lot of things as human beings that are harming it,” he says. “It’s heart-breaking to think it might not be the same place in a few years. It’s only one small restaurant, but we’re hoping to be a part of a movement to change things.”
Want to be a part of the change and also have some delicious tacos? Visit Taco Uprising at 2849 Welton Street, Denver, CO.
