Since 2021, Scott Tefft of Sterling has used his Thee Taco Dude food truck format to build a loyal following, test menus and generate the capital required to open a brick-and-mortar location. In January, Tefft, with business partner Jonathon Paradise, opened Thee Taco Dude restaurant, 310 Pleasant St., Leicester.
The gluten-free, fast-food spot with a counter for ordering and zero seating focuses on take-out and delivery. It filled the vacancy left by the former Matty-O’s Pleasant Street Brew, a coffee shop opened in July 2024. Dawu Café, which specialized in Southern-style soul food, also was a former tenant.
Tefft has been associated with the food industry since he was a teen, helping out in his family’s catering business in Fitchburg and in 1990, opening Hit the Spot, a Worcester diner on Hamilton Street. He worked for the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office for 20 years. Tefft founded Big T’s Jerky House and BBQ in Sterling and with his brother Bob Tefft formerly owned Big T’s Mill Street BBQ Company on Mill Street in Worcester…