TULSA, Okla. — October 9, 2025, marks the 10th annual Taste of Brookside, a celebration of local flavors and community spirit showcasing more than a dozen restaurants serving up bites and good vibes, all to benefit Youth Services of Tulsa.
One spot is doing more than serving food — it's serving an opportunity.
WATCH: Taste of Brookside turns 10 as T-Town Tacos empowers Tulsa youth
T-Town Tacos is a 180-day program run by Youth Services of Tulsa, launched in 2017, giving young clients real-world job training and experience.
"Basically, we saw a need with the clients that we serve to just provide some job training. We were noticing that clients were able to get jobs but didn't necessarily know the skills or have the skills to keep those jobs," Caroline Olsen, communication director of Youth Services, said.
Local News
'T-Town Tacos' serves up second chances, tasty tacos at Taste of Brookside
The program teaches teamwork, communication, and consistency, skills for working with supervisors, coworkers, and customers alike.
"We have a lot of businesses and other nonprofit agencies that will order either breakfast or lunch tacos that are prepared by our team," Olsen said.
One longtime participant, Alana, says the program gave her confidence and direction.
"Coming in here, working and learning to work with my coworkers and with my boss in how all this works," Alana said.
Olsen with Youth Services of Tulsa says Alana has grown a lot on her path to graduation.
"She's so diligent in her work, and she's really grown in her skills, and we are just delighted to have her on our team, and she's actually about to graduate our program," Olsen said.
Once she completes the 180-day program, Alana plans to earn her GED, pursue a college degree, and then pursue a career in medicine.
"Well, I'm going to get my GED and then go to college, and I want to become a professional doctor," Alana said.
But before graduation, she'll be serving tacos at Taste of Brookside, where T-Town Tacos and 16 other restaurants will raise money for Youth Services of Tulsa.
The Brookside Business Association and Youth Services of Tulsa will be presenting on Oct. 9.
Registration opens at 5:30 p.m.; tastings run from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Attendees 21 and older must pick up a wristband, map and ballot at registration to sample participating venues and vote for their favorites.
Organizers say the event features dishes and drink samples at multiple Brookside locations.
List of restaurants participating:
- Biga
- Cafe Ole
- T-Town Tacos
- Jimmy’s Chop House
- Torchy’s Tacos
- Shades of Brown
- Bricktown Brewery
- R Bar
- Elmer’s BBQ
- Ida Red
- Starbucks
- Lambrusco’z To Go
- Inheritance Kitchen+ Juicery
- Mondo’s
- PowerLife Yoga Barre Fitness
- Big Dipper
- Malfi Enoteca
To learn more about the event, click here.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- 2 News Oklahoma on your schedule | Download on your TV, watch for free. How to watch on your streaming device
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- Watch LIVE 24/7 on YouTube
