Casper restaurant owner Alex Rosales didn’t know the elaborately dressed blond man. Rosales figured his customer was just someone who liked to look lavish while eating Mexican food.
But it turns out this Tacos Mexico regular was YouTuber and cosmetics mogul and Casper resident Jeffree Star, who likes to look his best at all times.
“My daughters had to tell me who he was,” Rosales told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday. “Even then, though, we didn’t treat him different. We treated him like a normal customer, because that’s who he is.”
That was about two years ago.
Fast forward to this week, when Rosales will be including meat in some of his restaurant’s dishes from yaks raised by Star.
On Friday, Tacos Mexico will unveil the Star Yak Ranch carne desebrada, a type of shredded meat. Restaurant patrons can try the yak desebrada as a chimichanga or a platter of shredded meat with queso freso, rice and more. The restaurant will feature more cuts of the yak meat in the coming weeks as a special on weekends.
Rosales was skeptical when first trying the yak meat, but said Star’s product made a believer out of him.
“We weren’t really thinking of changing the menu, because we’re pretty much set on our dishes,” Rosales said. “But we got some yak meat for our personal use and it was really good. It’s got a great flavor, but it’s also not as fatty as beef is.”
A few weeks after Rosales tried the yak meat, Star stopped into the restaurant to inquire about a partnership between his yak ranch and Tacos Mexico, which has been in business in Casper for 22 years.
Rosales said he and his team were willing to try something new, by creating the new dishes with the exotic meat.
He also said it seemed like Star’s willingness to seek the restaurant out and ask them for a partnership, rather than vice versa, points to a quality in the food Tacos Mexico serves.
“It’s very flattering because he’s told us that he’s been to a lot of places and he really liked what we do,” Rosales said. “Here we are in Casper, Wyoming and to have someone recognize what you’re doing and he’s totally into it.”
Star began selling yak meat earlier this year. He has done pop-up shops in the Casper area, where people can buy various cuts of meat and beef jerky.
Rosales said how long the partnership lasts depends on Star’s supply of yak meat to the restaurant, but he expects that the partnership with Star will bring customers from all over Wyoming and the rest of the country.
The restaurant has already been featured on Star’s YouTube channel and other social media platforms, giving them a boost in recognition.
“He’s one of those guys that’s a perfectionist, from presentation to publicity,” Rosales said. “We’re all about stepping up and supplying our customers with something a little better than average.”
Star did not return Cowboy State Daily’s request for comment on Wednesday.
