Walking through Greek row during the weekend it’s hard to miss crowds at Tin Tan Tacos, a family owned restaurant on Colorado street.

“We felt like we wanted to share our food and the taste we have at home with the college students of WSU,” said Jacob Barrera, head manager and owner Adan Barrera’s son. “We’ve lived in Pullman and have gone to school here all our lives, so it made the most sense to open up here so we can stay close to where we’ve been for the last 18 years.”

As a family-owned restaurant, Tin Tan’s takes pride in its quality staff treatment, Barrera said.

“We want to make sure that everyone back in our kitchen is always well taken care of and comfortable,” he said. “Especially since a lot of drunk college students can say some uncomfortable things.”

While it is a quiet place to eat at during the day, Tin Tan’s location makes for some chaotic nighttime dining.

Barrera said serving drunk people can be challenging. Customers move chairs in ways that can cause fire hazards and have stood on tables to yell at staff.

“One football weekend I was working and I heard a lot of thumping,” said Barrera. “A security guard burst through the door on top of a student who was trying to attack him, and while he was there he turned, looked at me and goes ‘Hey! How are you guys doing tonight?’ and proceeded to take care of the situation.”

Located in the heart of Greek row, Tin Tan’s locks their bathrooms at 11:30 every night, even when they stay open until much later.

“We used to go in there and find the paper towel dispensers broken,” Barrera said. “Sink faucets broke and we’ve caught several students either trying to snort cocaine or trying to have happy endings to their nights.”

Tin Tan Tacos opened four years ago and took the place of a former taqueria. Barrera’s father was able to buy the restaurant after being employed there for five years.

“We already knew what we were doing,” Barrera said. “We just had an idea of what we wanted to upgrade, so the summer before opening we waxed the floor, put these murals up of our family and redid everything we could to make the place better.”

To many students, the restaurant isn’t just a place to get food, it’s part of the Pullman community.

“Tin Tan Tacos has the aspect of being unique in the terms of its customer base, especially with my father as the owner,” Barrera said. “I’ve seen people who actually admire my dad almost in the way of a celebrity, sometimes during Halloween, we’ll get pictures of people who have dressed up as him — people even take their graduation photos here.”

Tin Tan Tacos is located at 600 NE Colorado St.