Kristi and Matt Reynolds went out for dinner at Four Finger Distillery one night in April, and the next day were offered a business opportunity. Longtime residents of Lebanon, the family wanted to serve their community in a new and exciting venture — opening a taco restaurant inside Four Finger Distillery.
Working with Nameless Catering owner Jeremy Brown and Klooz Brewz owner Patrick Klooz, the Reynolds’ turned the restaurant space into their own, developed the atmosphere and created the menu just 30 days before opening.
“With our skill set, though, I think we each kind of went the direction that we needed. Jeremy took over the business management pieces of things. Matt’s obviously exceptional at operations. So is Patrick,” said Kristi. “And then I tried to focus on marketing, communications, designing the menu, editing, that sort of stuff — getting crews of people in here to paint and clean and all of those things. So [we] just kind of leaned on the skills of the four of us and got it done.”
Taco Alibi is a family business within a third-generation, local, business-owning family. Matt is a born-and-raised Lebanon resident whose parents owned a sports store in the 1980s. Matt’s grandmother, Bonnie — whose history in New York City partially inspired Taco Alibi’s name — owned Pixie Playhouse Daycare Center. The Reynold’s 17-year-old son works in Taco Alibi’s kitchen. The couple has lived in Lebanon together since around 2000.
“We’ve seen [Lebanon] when it was empty, and now we’re excited to be here when things are hopping,” said Kristi.
Having known Lebanon for many years, the Reynolds family wanted to provide a fun representation of the downtown atmosphere.
“We wanted it to be indicative of the downtown milieu. We’ve got the courthouse. We’ve got the jail. We’ve got a distillery,” Kristi said.
“I’ve always got kind of a speakeasy vibe from Four Finger with their décor and their lighting and things. It’s a lot brighter than a regular speakeasy,” Matt added.
Despite the speakeasy vibes, both the distillery and the restaurant are family friendly. The Reynolds have specifically designed their space to encourage families to dine, with a TV, pool table, dartboard and board games. Swifties can hunt for the 13 hidden Taylor Swift references in the menu. The kids menu offers items like mac and cheese for children who don’t want tacos, and plates are designed so every food item is kept separate — no touching.
Sports teams are encouraged to dine at Taco Alibi, with no reservations required and enough space for large groups.
The Reynolds’ personal favorites from the menu are the Schweebie (shrimp and pineapple taco), the Elliot taco, cookie dough flautas and the chorizo tacos. Vegetarian diners will find three meatless tacos; vegan diners have one taco option; and gluten-free diners have many options with corn tortillas. All gluten allergies are taken seriously by the kitchen.
The menu will rotate in the coming months based on diner feedback.
Taco Alibi will participate in Four Finger Distillery events and offer specials of its own, such as the Pacers el Pastor taco celebrating the Pacers.
Connect with Taco Alibi on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Find more information at tacoalibi.com. Visit Taco Alibi at 126 W. Washington St., Lebanon.
