Photo courtesy North Shore Care Center North Shore Care Center residents were invited to be the first customers at Hughie’s Taco House in April 2008. Owner Anna Hamilton treated them to taste the menu before her grand opening. The restaurant is named after her late father, a former resident at the Care Center, and features the Puff Taco. Inset: Hughie’s Taco House owner Anna Hamilton.
Hughie’s Taco House wasn’t the first name considered for the unique “Home of the Puffed Taco” in downtown Grand Marais—but it is the perfect name for the successful restaurant opened by family-oriented businesswoman Anna Hamilton.
When Hamilton decided to open a restaurant in Grand Marais, she wanted to name it “Nacho Mama’s,” a play on the planned Mexican fare as well as a teasing reference to the other enterprises that she has owned and operated with her mother, the late Betty Hamilton and sister, Sarah Hamilton— Trail Center, My Sister’s Place, and Gunflint Mercantile. But that name was not to be, explained Anna in an interview at Hughie’s recently. It was a registered trademark of another restaurant.
In the midst of building renovation— Hamilton bought the building next to Arrowhead Pharmacy and spent five months ripping out walls, refinishing floors, and cleaning—and the name search, Hamilton’s father, Hugh C. Hamilton died, on October 31, 2007. “I figured what the heck, we’re not Mexican anyway, I’ll name the restaurant after my dad,” said Hamilton.
Hughie’s Taco House opened on April 15, 2008 with a visit from residents of the North Shore Care Center in a celebration of Hugh Hamilton’s life.
The Taco House menu met with Care Center resident approval—they, like many other North Shore residents, are of primarily Scandinavian descent and liked the option of having their taco spicy—or not! “If you want spicy, we leave that up to you,” said Hamilton with a grin, pointing out all the “extras” that can be added—jalapenos, diced onions, guacamole, spicy cheese sauce (Queso), and salsa.
Hamilton credits her mom, Betty, who also passed away, on October 12, 2008, with the idea for the taco house. The family wanted to be able to offer affordable but fast food. Betty recalled a recipe she learned when she worked with a Mexican family over 30 years ago. Although she, too was very ill, she helped set up the kitchen and oversaw the perfecting of the Puff Taco shells. The original recipe called for lard. “We worked hard at finding the oil that we fry in. It is not hydrogenated. There are no animal products at all. There were a lot of prototypes!”
It was Betty who suggested an open kitchen, so people could see where their food is prepared. And it was Betty, who was known at Trail Center and My Sister’s Place for her unusual soups, who insisted that Hughie’s Taco House offer a sauerkraut taco. “It has really taken off,” said Anna Hamilton. “We have sold a lot of them.”
Another reason a lot of puff tacos have been sold, said Hamilton, is because of her great staff. Her partner, Stacey Houglum, helps with prep work. His sisters, nieces, and mother all also work at Hughie’s. Austin Oullis not only cooks, but also contributed the silly Jesse James bobble head at the register.
The bobble head fits in the restaurant, which is decorated in the style that North Shore residents have come to expect from the Hamilton family— an eclectic mix of new and old, serious and whimsical. There are colorful woven blankets decorating the ceiling and longhorn steer horns over the kitchen door. There are antique saddles, sombreros, and spittoons. Hamilton laughed when she looked around the taco house. “People just bring us stuff!” she said, pointing out some special sombreros, antique Spanish rugs, and the large cactuses in the sunny window.
There is an interesting collection of posters as well—of Poncho Villa, a female Zorro, and of course a poster of John Wayne, the “Duke.” Hamilton’s favorite is perhaps the silly cigarette ad near the register—it features Tyrone Powers with a thick black mustache, which kids love to play with while waiting for their dinner or lunch.
All in all, Hughie’s Taco House is a welcoming family place with a delightfully different menu—so why is it now on the market? Hamilton explained that was her plan all along. She said she sold My Sister’s Place restaurant to be able to care for her ailing parents. “I was blessed to be able to take care of them,” she said.
She said what she wanted to do after losing both her parents was to build another business and to sell it. “It would be nice for another family to make a living up here,” she said.
It would also be a wonderful tribute to Hugh and Betty Hamilton.
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