PROSPECT HEIGHTS — It’s classic Caribbean with a Technicolor twist.
The ‘aunties’ of Tantz On The Go may be the new kids on the block in Central Brooklyn’s booming gourmet food truck scene, but with their brightly colored wheels and enticing entrees, these ‘aunties’ are impossible to miss.
“Our favorite colors are purple and lime green, so we created this beautiful purple and lime green logo with the peacock,” said co-owner Natalie De Souza.
“When we sat down to design the truck, we wanted it to be something really outstanding, so people would be like, what is that?”
Both De Souza and co-owner Marcia ‘Tantz’ Arcia hail from Trinidad and Tobago, where they grew up on rich home cooked meals like the ones they dish up in Downtown Brooklyn, outside the Brooklyn Museum in Prospect Heights, and in between the borough’s two busiest hospitals, SUNY Downstate and Kings County in Flatbush.
“We grew up calling our favorite aunties tante or tantz for short, and you always go to your favorite aunts for great food,” De Souza said of the name. “The catering business started with Taste of Tantz, and now we’re Tantz on the Go.”
Unlike scores of hip restaurants serving roadside, the ladies of Tantz never imagined themselves updating their location on Twitter or serving out of a to go window.
“My business partner has been catering privately for the last three years and has built a really positive name in the Caribbean community with her food. Initially she was looking for brick and mortar restaurant space,” De Souza said. But then “one thing led to another and we ended up with the food truck.”
Although they've embraced the 'on the go' mentality, De Souza said Tantz hasn't sacrificed quality for convenience.
“The peacock is a regal bird — it’s known for its vibrancy,” De Souza said. “We want to let people know that we’re a restaurant on wheels, that they can get five star food from a Caribbean food truck.”
