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By Natalia Otero
In the 20 years that Raquel Ibarra has been living in the United States, she has worked in many different fast food restaurants. Two years ago, on December 20, 2022, she decided to take the risk and open her own foodtruck, or “lonchera,” called Taqueria La Mariana.
“I worked in different restaurants…until it was time to say: I'm ready to open my own business,” Ibarra explains. “With the experience I have, I knew I could prepare different dishes.”
The lonchera has worked out quite well for her. In fact, she is planning to open a second foodtruck, hire employees at the first, and continue to grow.
“The benefit of doing a foodtruck is that everything is yours. Wherever you go you can take everything with you,” she explains. “Everything you invest is yours and you can start small and keep investing.”
Although almost 20 percent of the restaurants in Arizona are Mexican, Taqueria Mariana differentiates itself by offering all kinds of fast food, with the authentic Mexican seasoning of Ibarra's region Nayarit, and especially the seasonings her mother taught her.
“I see that people tend to specialize in only one type of food in each lonchera: they sell hamburgers, or tacos, or pizza, and so on. I can do everything: I have hamburgers, pizza, birria, salchipapa, carne asada, quesadillas, vampiros (a tortilla with melted cheese and the meat of your choice, pico de gallo and guacamole),” says Ibarra.
Her Secret Touch
Ibarra has a secret touch for her food: she adds lots of spice and lemon, as she learned from her mother. Her seasoning is so infallible that she even once prepared vegetarian al pastor tacos for her daughter, and she couldn't tell they were meatless.
“I have my Nayarit sazón, which is spicy and acidic. I learned it by watching my mom cook. The truth is that the seasoning is hers. I learned the rest through my life’s experiences,” she says.
Of course, both her mother and daughters are very proud of her. In fact, the name “Taqueria Mariana” is due to her youngest daughter. The eldest is named Marisol, but, for the sake of sound, Ibarra decided to name her business Mariana, although both daughters are in the restaurant’s logo. She also has two sons and although they are focused on their universities, they all know how to cook with that seasoning.
Though her lonchera has succeeded, Ibarra does not feel she is at the point of celebrating. She will do that when the business reaches three years old, she says, because it will mean that she has reached true stability.
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