I think we can all agree that the one problem with art galleries is that they don’t provide absurdly delicious/free tacos. OneMethod capitalized on this gap and created La Carnita Ltd., a pop-up art stand that serves original art and authentic tacos from time to time in downtown Toronto.

The Concept

La Carnita Ltd. creates a limited number of original prints of art and provides those who buy the art with handmade tacos designed by our own Andrew Richmond. Pop-ups occur in various places and consumers are only alerted of the time and place hours before via Twitter. Once that happens, things tend to go nuts.

The Response

Considering the fact that we were only using Twitter, a stripped-down Tumblr page, a short promo video (above), and some old-fashioned grapevine tactics, we really didn’t know what to expect. But week 1 exceeded any and all expectations we might have had. We sold out of 100 prints and 300 tacos in under 45 minutes and were already planning the next step.

Twitter immediately became our primary communication channel as we used the network to crowdsource other artists, venues, chefs, and connect with/appetize a rapidly growing number of followers that were hungry for more delicious artwork. Our second pop-up saw us move over 150 works of art and we ended up trending in Toronto, averaging over one @mention per minute during our 90 minute run.

From there it was simply bigger and better. We continued an active and transparent push on Twitter and continued to grow our connections and following. As for where La Carnita is at today… We were recently named Toronto’s best fish taco, the Globe listed La Carnita one of the top 10 small businesses of 2011, and at our last pop-up we had a 200 person line-up that kicked off with a group of people literally sprinting to be the first recipients of our artwork/taco combination.

To get a better view of the whole La Carnita story, see below or check the tons of photos from each pop-up on our Facebook page (most photos are ones we found online).

The Highlights

• Close to 3,000 Twitter followers
• Trended in Toronto x2
• Featured in The Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, and the National Post
• Featured in Marketing Magazine, Applied Arts, Toronto Life, The Grid, and BlogTO
• Featured on CBC National News (below)
• Featured in over 25 blogs
• Catered events with The National and Neko Case, Kahlua, and Charlie’s Burgers
• Partnered with several high profile chefs (Guy Rawlings, Daniel Usher, Dustin Gallager etc…)
• Partnered with several premier artists (Shingo Shimizu, Pascal Paquette, Ashely Barron etc…)
• Sold out at every pop-up to date (17)

The Coverage

Below you will find an ongoing list of all La Carnita’s press coverage.

Publications

• The Grid TO 1
• Toronto Life 1
• The Grid TO 2
• CBC News on CBC.ca / on OneMethod’s Vimeo channel
• Canadian Restaurant News
• Globe and Mail 1
• Marketing Mag on MM.ca / on OneMethod’s Vimeo channel
• Yahoo! News
• National Post
• Toronto Star 1
• Applied Arts
• Toronto Life 2
• Globe and Mail 2
• The Grid TO 3
• Toronto Life 3
• Toronto Star 2

Blogs

• Spotlight City
• So What
• Food PrOn
• Chow Hound
• Yelp
• Our Faves
• Open House (US publication)
• Stimulant Online
• Notable.ca
• Canpages
• If Looks Could Fill
• The Design Tree
• BlogTO
• North East of the City
• Gettin Fresh
• Photozo
• A Salted Life
• Toronto Standard
• Vanessa’s Bazaar
• Potato Chops and Boneless Chicken
• Toronto Food Trucks
• The Gastro Gnomes
• The Torontoist
• Bon Eats
• Just Good Stuff
• A.V. Club Toronto
• Acquired Taste Magazine
• Mooki
• RestaurantCentral.ca