Dulce de Lopez Dessert Truck
The Lopez family gathers in front of their new Dulce de Lopez Dessert Truck.
By Ed Avis
López Mexican Restaurant in Houston has regularly contributed to charities during the decades since it was founded by Rodrigo López in 1978, but the restaurant’s charitable giving took a sweet turn earlier this month when the owners parked their Dulce de López Dessert Truck out front and promised the proceeds to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
“We’ve been in business for 39 years, and we’ve always been engaged in the community in one aspect or another, such as with Little League teams, the church, and other non-profits,” says Jonathan López, Rodrigo’s son and vice president of the family-run business. “So this is an evolution in our giving – we wanted to try something that’s more relevant. What’s more relevant in Houston, a city with a food truck craze, than this?”
The food truck offers warm, freshly-made churros served with ice cream and sprinkled with
Mexican Restaurant Charitable Churros
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fun, colorful toppings. They cost $4 each, and the charity receiving the profits will change a few times a year. López says the next charity will probably be a group that buys electrolyte drinks for local firefighters.
Why dessert? “Our customers are dining in the restaurant, and we felt having the truck parked outside would give them a final experience before going home,” López explains. “We have dessert here in the restaurant, but this way customers can sit in the patio area, enjoy the dessert, and engage with their family.”
López says he and his colleagues got the idea for the churros with ice cream from Instagram. They bought the food truck specifically for this project, something that López calls a “sizeable investment.”
“It was a relevant way for us to give back to the community,” he says, adding that the publicity they have received, such as from the Houston Chronicle and TV station KPRC, has been nice but was not what prompted the idea. “We’ve had great response from the customers. They’re very happy with the dessert, and with the idea of the profits going to a charitable organization.”