Tienda Y Taqueria Guerrero food truck now open during winter weekends
It’s almost 11 p.m. on a Saturday night in February. It’s cold, but you’re craving Mexican food. But at this hour, what can you do?
Tienda Y Taqueria Guerrero has your answer: a late night visit to their food truck, now open on winter weekends.
Tienda Y Taqueria Guerrero has been operating the food truck since 2002, but the decision to open during winter weekends is a new one.
On a chilly Friday night, the Tienda Y Taqueria Guerrero food truck was out offering hot, authentic Mexican food. Eric Johnson/[email protected]
“We used to only open it during the spring to fall season, before winter hit since it was super cold,” said Evelyn Serrano, daughter of Tienda Y Taqueria Guerrero owners Custodio and Georgina Serrano. “But, we finally got a heater that worked really well with it, so it keeps us warm in there. Now we’re running (the food truck) year round.”
And it didn’t take long before the hungry Austin community found out.
“(The community has) been super supportive,” Serrano said. “I see a lot of different faces every weekend. Some people didn’t even know we had a food truck. I think the Eat.Drink.Shop.Austin (Facebook) page has been really helpful; it’s how people know more about your business.”
The food truck offers your standard Mexican favorites — tacos, burritos, quesadillas and tortas. But Serrano said a new item is being featured this year.
“This year we added birria tacos,” she said. “Birria is a soup with beef. It’s not spicy, it’s just red because of the flavor we give it. What makes it special is it’s greasy and toasty and it has cheese and meat inside. It makes a really good combination.”
Serrano noted that the proper way to eat birria tacos is to dip them in the soup.
Although patrons order from outside, Serrano said they do try to ensure that people follow COVID-19 safety precautions.
“We try to send (customers) back to their cars, especially with the cold, and we call their name when it’s ready,” she said. “Some people like to go to their car and others like to wait outside. We try not to keep them all there and we try to keep them at least six feet apart.”
“Sometimes people don’t listen,” she added.
The food truck is open from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday in the Tienda y Taqueria Guerrero parking lot at 301 Fourth Ave. NE. For more information, call 507-437-4106.