How Session Taco is using a rebrand to return to its roots

It’s not every day you get sued by an international corporation that happens to share your name, especially after spending a decade in the restaurant business. But it happened to Adam and Jason Tilford, owners of Session Taco – formerly Mission Taco.

It also happened just after the company successfully navigated COVID-19 and handled a fire that temporarily shut down Session’s Central West End location. “As a restaurant group, it’s been one hit after another,” Session CEO Adam Tilford says. He notes that things had just started to return to normal when the fire on North Euclid Avenue ripped through Session and the surrounding businesses, closing the location until June 2025.

The reopening of the CWE location is both an achievement and a critical part of the Tilfords’ plan for the brand in general. As it moves into the future with a new name, reinvigorated spaces and seven locations across ��ѿ��ý and Kansas City, the Tilfords are kicking it old school, aiming straight at what made the restaurant an instant hit when the original location landed in 2013.

Growing a multi-location restaurant is not without its pitfalls, though, and within the area’s fast-casual dining scene, expansion can have the unintended side effect of a public that frequently equates an increase in quantity with a decrease in quality. “Unfortunately, the public’s perception is our reality,” Adam says. “I think in ��ѿ��ý, anytime you grow, there’s a general perception that you’re ‘going corporate’ or that growth is a negative thing.”

Navigating a multi-location brand post-pandemic has been challenging, particularly in terms of staffing, as many departed the hospitality industry during the pandemic to shift to other fields. Adam says he’s also seen a foundational shift in dining and lifestyle habits in recent years. “You know, date nights look a lot different now,” he explains. “After COVID, we weren’t getting the rushes from Cardinals or Blues games … or the post-concert rushes. It was this attitude of, ‘I’m going to a show up for a game, and then I’m going home.’ It was a lifestyle shift we were adapting to.”

And then the lawsuit hit. It was the last thing the Tilfords needed, but in the face of yet another hurdle, a rare opportunity presented itself: a chance to reinvigorate the brand. “We just said, ‘You know what? Let’s go for it,’” Adam says. “We felt the brand had suffered a bit post-COVID, and our service and hospitality weren’t where we wanted them to be. So we’ve tried to use the rebrand as a jumping-off point to get things where they need to get back to.”

The Tilfords have gone after it, embracing the chance to get back to their roots as a scrappy little taco joint with big flavor and personality to match. “The original [concept] was rooted in [San Francisco’s] Mission District and skate culture,” Adam says. “With Session, we fell into that same idea: skate sesh, surf sesh, jam sesh and so on.” With this in mind, the team is customizing locations to reflect the neighborhood each one resides in. One of the ways the restaurant is doing this is with Sessions, an ongoing event and entertainment series. Each month brings live music (Jam Sesh) to some locations, while others see events like July’s upcoming Tequila Sesh – a private seasonal margarita tasting – and Summer Spritz Sesh, where customers can sample the seasonal spritz menu. Taco Sesh Tuesdays bring guests $3 tacos all day, and the return of late-night happy hours at all locations mark a shift to early days, all while Session leans back into late night dining. “Pre-COVID, people viewed us as a place to hang out and get tacos and have a drink,” Adam says. “So we want to get back – especially at some of our urban locations like Delmar, Central West End and our Crossroads location in Kansas City – to that vibe.”

To guide the shift, the Tilfords tapped Josh Laney to be Session’s director of operations. Laney, an industry veteran who spent six years as bar manager at Session and most recently served as general manager at Niche Food Group’s Expat BBQ, was tasked with reinforcing the 10-year-old brand’s identity while also pulling it apart to examine each piece individually. The goal? Tailor hospitality to fit the ambiance at each location. “Working for Gerard [Craft] for a few years taught me that hospitality wasn’t just discounts or things like that,” Laney says. “It’s thoughtful gifts to returning customers or first-time guests, and it’s bringing fun into it.”

Since taking the reins, Laney has shifted management into locations that suit their individual talents and has strengthened the cocktail program with a shift from batched back to scratch-made, bolstering the idea that Session is, at its core, a restaurant with a killer bar. He’s grown the wine list at the Kirkwood and Town & Country locations, where the atmosphere is decidedly more family oriented. “We’re just trying to think outside the box with everything we’re doing,” Laney says. “Instead of every Session Taco being the same vibe, we’re tailoring our vibe to fit the neighborhood each Session is in.”

The new menu may be the best example of how dedicated the Session team is to its new chapter as it holds true to its indie roots. In each category – from starters to tacos, burritos, sides and more – creativity abounds thanks to Jason Tilford, the chef and craftsman behind the menu from day one. Longtime fans will likely see some OG favorites situated next to inventive dishes like blue crab taquitos, lobster tacos and more. Thoughtful elements weave their way into every dish: Cucumber pico, hibiscus-pickled onions, fresh herbs and an encyclopedia of sauces play pivotal roles in the finished product. The result feels fresh, focused and chef-driven, much the way it did when Session first opened its doors over a decade ago.

“[Josh Laney] has been a breath of fresh air for us,” Adam says. “Working with each of our teams, getting the stores where they need to be … We’ve seen immediate impacts from all of that.” Truth be told, it’s been a weight lifted for the Tilfords and a move into a new chapter. “We’re just trying to stay open; we just want to keep doing what we love doing,” Adam says. “Last year was very, very difficult. But ever since this year began, and we got the signs [for Session] finished and up, and the name change was out of the way, it was like, ‘All right, cool. Now we can actually start moving forward.’”

Session Taco, multiple locations,