Chad Gauss might be best known as the brains behind local dining destinations The Food Market and La Food Marketa, but he is also passionate about giving back to the community—whether hosting dinners benefitting No Kid Hungry or serving on the board of the Hampden Family Center.
“All I really want to do is see people happy,” he says. “And food is communal by nature. We like hospitality just as much as we like food and service.”
To further his hospitable mission, the chef is hosting Tacopalooza, an outdoor fiesta at La Food Marketa on Monday, July 3 from 5-10 p.m. The party will benefit ShareBaby, a local organization that collects diapers, clothing, and other infant supplies for families in need throughout Baltimore City. As a father of three, Gauss says that the cause hits close to home.
“When it comes to charities, children are the most important because they’re absolutely helpless,” he says. “You’re born with the demand to have someone take care of you, and every baby should have the opportunity to have those needs fulfilled.”
ShareBaby will receive a portion of the proceeds from the event’s all-inclusive tickets, which offer guests eats, drinks, live DJ entertainment, a photo booth, and fun raffle prizes like a piñata stuffed with gift cards.
The event will be the first of its kind at the restaurant, which opened at Pikesville’s Shops at Quarry Lake last fall. Gauss says that it will have a summer block party-inspired feel, with food stations inside, passed drinks on the patio, and outdoor entertainment on a sectioned-off portion of the street.
“It’s just meant to be a big party,” he adds. “It will be a great time for people to relax and enjoy being outside.”
Guests are invited to dance to Latin house music spun by DJ Tanz, sip house margaritas, mojitos, and sangrias, and, of course, dig in to bottomless tacos. As the event’s name suggests, the evening’s menu will feature tortillas filled with everything from chicken and steak to turkey chorizo and lamb neck. There will also be plenty of chips and dip, and even a charcoal grill cooking whole fish, charred octopus, and other meats.
Aside from supporting the cause, Gauss is enthusiastic about using the restaurant as a venue to bring the community together.
“I’m just excited for everyone to come and hang out, enjoy, and know that life is good,” he says. “It will be a break from the world that night.”