A Look Inside Taqueria Santa Cruz Express
By Ryan Hurlow
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Taqueria Santa Cruz opened its newest location in San Luis Obispo four months ago
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Taqueria Santa Cruz Express is co-owned by Edgar Valencia and Gonzalo Hernandez
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The restaurant utilizes no advertising at all
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The food is prepared every morning to ensure freshness
The fresh aroma of onions, tomatoes, cilantro, peppers, meats, salsas and various herbs and spices fill the air. The sounds of sports channels playing on the multiple televisions are drowned out by the chatter of customers and banter of chefs preparing food in the kitchen. Edgar Valencia and Gonzalo Hernandez frantically pace around the narrow kitchen space to satisfy hungry patrons at Taqueria Santa Cruz Express.
Owners Edgar Valencia and Gonzalo Hernandez decided to make the move to the central coast four months ago. Since its grand opening, Taqueria Santa Cruz Express has found no shortage of customers. Valencia and his family felt San Luis Obispo was a suitable area to open up the third location of his family business and the ideal city to raise a family.
History
Valencia’s parents entered the restaurant industry over 20 years ago, when they opened their first taqueria in Santa Cruz, before eventually opening up other locations in Santa Cruz, Utah and now San Luis Obispo. Gonzalo Hernandez’s uncle, Jose Hernandez runs the other locations. Valencia’s family opened their restaurants with the intention of providing fresh and authentic Mexican cuisine to the community. Valencia entered the restaurant industry when he was only 11 years old.
“I’ve been working in a restaurant for over 18 years. I’ve gone from helping my parents run their restaurants to opening up my own,” Valencia said. “I’ve been doing this for almost all my life. It’s just what I do best.”
Valencia’s lifelong passion for food translates into the restaurants’ success and the quality of the dishes served.
Authenticity
One key reason for his restaurant’s success is its authenticity, Valencia said.
“Up in the Bay Area and down south you can find authentic Mexican restaurants. But here, in San Luis Obispo, I think you will find less,” Valencia said. “I think our large menu really provides more choices than other restaurants and the diversity of items makes us more authentic.”
What also makes Taqueria Santa Cruz Express more unique than its competitors is the freshness and quality of its ingredients. The restaurant obtains its fruits and vegetables from Santa Maria and purchases its meats in Nipomo. Every morning, Valencia and his staff prepare a fresh batch of ingredients for the day. From dicing the tomatoes and onions to seasoning the meats, Valencia ensures that his patrons get fresh food every time.
“I’ve seen some restaurants use ingredients that were frozen for a few days. I believe that freshness makes the food come a long way. When everything is fresh, the flavors stand out more and everything tastes better,” Valencia said.
Flavor
Taqueria Santa Cruz Express has a few items recommended by various patrons. These items include:
Industrial engineer fourth year at Cal Poly, Cecilia Tran highly suggests getting carne asada, menudo, or any quesadilla.
“The food here is clean with large portions. It’s not too greasy and it’s more authentic in terms of the menu variety they offer,” Tran said.
Albert Malatamban, head instructor of Elite Muay Thai Academy in San Luis Obispo said, “The al pastor here is on point. It’s really flavorful and tender. Taqueria Santa Cruz Express is probably the best taqueria in San Luis Obispo.”
Success
What may be surprising is the fact that Taqueria Santa Cruz Express does not have any advertisements at all. They earn their customers purely through word of mouth.
“We don’t have billboards. We don’t have ads in newspapers or magazines. Customers just show up to eat our food,” Valencia said. “Honestly I think our food just speaks for itself. People think our prices are good for the portions we serve. People keep coming back because they like our food.”
Building a successful business does not come with out hardships however. Money used to be a big problem in keeping the restaurants alive, Valencia said. In order to start a business, enough capital is needed. Now that the restaurants have earned enough, money is less of an issue.
Valencia still insists on waking up every morning with nothing but his restaurant and customers in mind.
“You don’t get far in the restaurant business without hard work and dedication. That’s all there is to it. You have to put in the work to see results,” Valencia said, “I’ve been doing this for almost 20 years now and I take pride in it.”
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