On February 2, when we still had not recovered from the rebound in the wave of COVID cases – 19 that the holidays left us, Fernando Guadarrama Pérez had the courage to open his lunch box “OC Tacos # 2” in the city of Fullerton in Orange County.
“ I was not afraid of the pandemic nor did I want to wait for it to come to an end. I am a very hard-working and very ‘fanatic’ man. My dream is to have a restaurant and I go step by step, but I will not stop until I achieve it ”.
Fernando’s dreams began in Iguala, Mexico where he was born. He was about to turn 17 years when he left his land in the Mexican southwest to emigrate to the south of California and settled in the city of Anaheim in Orange County.
“During almost 18 years, I worked in the kitchens of different French and Italian restaurants until I became a chef ”, he says .
When I had 35 years, three years ago, he thought it was time to do something for him and create his own business, and what better than a taqueria.
“I bought a ‘trailita’ – a small trailer – that he pulled with my truck. I baptized it with the name of OC Tacos and I parked at Anderson and 4 streets in East Los Angeles in front of a warehouse where they shoot commercials and movies, ”he says. Since then, almost every day to and from Anaheim to East Los Angeles.
And the Mexican cannot complain . Their tacos al pastor, carne asada, birria, head, chorizo and other meats are very popular. “The tacos al pastor are the ones that most people ask for,” he clarifies.
Many of his clients are workers from the filming and other corporations that rent the wineries.
And although during the most critical of the pandemic, it did not go as he would have liked, he continued in the fight and adapted to the sanitary restrictions imposed for the sale of food as the use of masks, gloves and other requirements.
When in January, the owner of A lunch box offered to rent it to him, because he had to leave the country for a while. Fernando didn’t think much about it and took the opportunity, encouraged by the desire to have something of his own.
This is how the OC Tacos # 2 lunch box opened to the public on February 2 in the city of Fullerton.
“ I struggled to find where to put myself. They took me away from the first place where I stood and so I walked from here to there until the owners of a gas station in front of Fullerton University, allowed me to install myself . I already served a month in that place. ”
So far, the acceptance has been very good and the clients have not lacked, he says Fernando.
“I believe that the key for one to do well in the sale of food is to give the best and a good treatment. Besides that my tacos are very good and I make them very special. ”
Most of its clients – precise – They are white and Latino. “The ‘Americans’ are ‘requested’ by tacos.”
Even though he already opened his OC Tacos # 2 lunch box in Fullerton, Fernando maintains its ‘trailita’ OC Tacos in East Los Angeles. “Both are open Monday through Friday. In East Los Angeles we are open from 8: 30 am to 1: 30 pm; and OC Tacos # 2 is open in the evenings. In the morning my wife Rosa G. Ibares and I work. She charges and I cook because that’s what I like. In the afternoon, I also cook, but I have two people who help me, to collect and to attend. ”
Not happy with working from Monday to Fridays, on Sundays he puts his lunch box of tacos in a brewery in Anaheim, and also on weekends he offers taco service for events.
“The pace of work that we bring is very heavy. I sleep 4 hours a night, but that’s the way it is when you have your own business and want it to do well. At the very least, I have to ensure an income of $ 18, 000 per month to pay rent and bills for my business and my house. It’s a lot of stress. Sometimes he only goes out to pay the expenses and there is no money left to save, but we are making progress. ”
Despite all the effort, Fernando is happy because he feels that he is on the right path to make the dream that was born in Mexico come true and that led him to emigrate to the United States, to have his own restaurant.
If you want to know more, visit OCTacos.com on social media.