Local Heroes Podcast16 Elo 2025

EP29 | Cantina | Tacos, Timing and Tenacity | Local Heroes Podcast

In this episode of Local Heroes, we meet James King and Mark Brown, the boys behind Newcastle’s much loved Cantina. They didn’t start as friends. Working long shifts in Newcastle’s bars and restaurants, they often found themselves side by side but not quite in sync.

Over time, the hard graft forged mutual respect and that chemistry deepened when they became the rhythm section in a band. Then came the turning point: a failed music trip to Mexico. The gigs didn’t go to plan, but the food, culture, and late night tacos lit a spark neither of them could ignore. It was the serendipitous moment that would change their future. Back home, they built Cantina the only way they knew how, through hard graft, a slow burn, and the patience and time it takes to get things right. From street food pop-ups and market stalls to the high-risk leap into bricks-and-mortar dining, they navigated the challenge of introducing locals to authentic Mexican flavours.

While much of the menu was plant-based, James and Mark chose not to label it that way. The food had to stand up for itself, win over anyone who walked through the door, and avoid being boxed in as “just for a niche audience.” The big breakthrough came during their Xerox residency, proving Newcastle was ready for what they wanted to serve.

🎧 In this episode:

🤝 From not getting along to running a thriving business together

🥁 How bar work and band gigs shaped their teamwork

🇲🇽 The Mexico “failure” that became a culinary turning point

🧱 Building a restaurant with patience, time, and steady growth

🌱 Why they don't call Cantina “plant-based”

💡 How the Xerox residency showed the city was ready for Cantina

If you love underdog stories, great food, and a dash of rock ’n’ roll spirit, this one’s for you.

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Jaksot(72)

EP71 | Carley Armstrong | Hendon, Hustle and Heart | Local Heroes Podcast

This week on the Local Heroes Podcast, Chris and Dan sit with Carley Armstrong of Sunderland - producer, filmmaker, and one of the hardest-grafting people in North East film right now. She's gone from...

27 Kesä 1h 30min

EP70 | Andy Haddon | Bees, Bread and Belief | Local Heroes Podcast

<span;>This week on the Local Heroes Podcast, Chris and Dan sit down with Andy Haddon - beekeeper, baker, accidental troublemaker, and the man Charlotte Crosby once crowned "the David Attenborough of ...

20 Kesä 1h 26min

EP69 | Bobzilla | Murals, Music and Mercury Missiles | Local Heroes Podcast

This week on the Local Heroes Podcast, Chris and Dan sit with Bobzilla - artist, muralist, DJ, photographer, and a man whose own mum still refuses to call him anything but Robert. The name itself is a...

13 Kesä 1h 32min

EP68 | Solo | Diaries, DIY & Dread | Local Heroes Podcast

This week, Chris and Dan set out to talk about what’s been happening in their lives and somehow end up covering everything from decorating disasters and DIY injuries to family diaries, old letters, ho...

6 Kesä 46min

EP67 | Cal Byerley| Gordon, Gastronomy and Great British Menu | Local Heroes Podcast

This week on the Local Heroes podcast, Chris and Dan sit with Cal Byerley of Restaurant Pine - and Gordons (plural) steal the show. Gordon, the podcast mascot, is named after a rock star, carved from ...

30 Touko 1h 30min

EP66 | Rob Sampson | Shields, Shandies and Sausage Rolls | Local Heroes Podcast

This week on the Local Heroes podcast, Chris and Dan sit with Rob Sampson, the man behind "Gan for bait, like?" One of the North East's most-followed food voices, the conversation that wanders from Ca...

28 Touko 1h 37min

EP65 | Jo Feeley | Forecast, Fashion and Trend Obsession | Local Heroes Podcast

This week on Chris and Dan sit down with Jo Feeley, co-founder of TrendBible, the Newcastle based trend forecasting agency helping some of the world’s biggest brands understand what people will want n...

28 Touko 1h 43min

EP64 | Laughs, Life and Lady Parts | Lauren Pattison | Local Heroes Podcast

This week Chris and Dan are joined by comedian Lauren Pattison, one of the sharpest stand-up voices to come out of the North East in the last decade. From doing her first gigs at 18 in Newcastle to be...

9 Touko 1h 54min