# @square on YouTube

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://youtube.com/watch?v=etfa6ph8pPg
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/71581173-square-youtube
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/c959036590.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-06-18T15:51:18.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Square (@square) — https://gondola.cc/square

## Caption

They fed neighbors during a storm — and ended up winning a James Beard Award.

In this episode of The Way Up, Guy Raz meets Edgar Rico and Sara Mardanbigi, the couple behind Nixta Taqueria in Austin, Texas. What started with resilience in the face of disaster became a nationally acclaimed restaurant with a mission rooted in community, creativity, and cultural pride.

From navigating natural disasters to rethinking the taco, Edgar and Sara share hard-earned lessons in business, leadership, and love.

Subscribe for the full series. 

0:00 Meet Chef Edgar Rico and Sara Mardanbigi, owners of Nixta Taqueria 
1:10 Discovering Nixtamalization
2:20 Where the idea for starting a restaurant began
4:01 Meeting Sara, Edgar’s life and business partner
5:26 The 3-year journey to opening a restaurant
7:59 Bootstrapping the restaurant
9:28 Opening a taqueria in the taco capital of the US
10:34 Becoming an instant success
11:09 Shifting to drive-through and pop-ups 
12:51 How Square fuels Nixta Taqueria’s growth and experimentation
15:45 Showing up for the Austin community
17:38 The crowdfunding support that gave Nixta a lifeline  
20:00 Preservation vs. evolution: What’s next for Nixta Taqueria 


#TheWayUp #GuyRaz #Square #NixtaTaqueria #JamesBeardAward #SmallBusiness #AustinEats #TacoLife #RestaurantOwner #LatinxBusiness #CommunityDriven

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At Square, we're so much more than the little white card reader. We help businesses of all sizes start, run, and grow every day.

Whether it's the food truck establishing a brick-and-mortar restaurant, the former sole proprietor adding her first employees, or the entrepreneur expanding from one location to ten, our solutions scale with our sellers. We all grow together.

## Stats

- **Views:** 46,422
- **Likes:** 158
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 5

## Tags

restaurantowner, austineats, tacolife, guyraz, nixtataqueria, communitydriven, smallbusiness, latinxbusiness, jamesbeardaward, thewayup, square

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