# Taco States of America

Taco States of America (TSA) is a community-driven platform for discovering and rating the best local taco shops across all 50 US states. Users rate shops, write reviews, nominate new spots, compete in tournaments, and unlock achievement-gated merch.

## How It Works

- Community members nominate locally-owned taco shops, trucks, and taquerias
- Users rate shops with star ratings and written reviews
- Shop rankings are determined by a weighted sum of votes, tournament victories, and "best ever" designations
- Points are calculated on a rolling 52-week basis to keep rankings fresh
- National chains and franchises are excluded — only independent, local spots qualify

## Key Features

- **Leaderboard**: Real-time rankings of the best taco spots in every state, filterable by state and city
- **Tournaments**: Head-to-head brackets (Taco Tourney) where the community votes on matchups
- **Achievements**: Unlock badges and merch by rating shops across multiple states
- **Shop Profiles**: Each shop has a dedicated page with ratings, reviews, and location info

## Who Built It

Founded by Bjorn as a community project to support local taco shops that don't have million-dollar advertising budgets.

## Links

- Website: https://www.tacostatesofamerica.com
- Blog: https://www.tacostatesofamerica.com/blog
- Shop Leaderboard: https://www.tacostatesofamerica.com/shops
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tacostatesofamerica