Guadalupe Osorno with JoJo Burgess, the mayor of Washington, Pennsylvania.
By Natalia Otero
Some stories are told aloud: grand openings, awards, growth. Others are lived in silence, amid difficult decisions, sleepless nights, and the determination not to let go of what one knows they’ve built with their own hands.
The story of Guadalupe Osorno, founder of Boga Taco in Washington, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, is both.
When she opened the restaurant in March 2023, she did so with business partners.
“I had partners—my uncle and two others who were brothers.” It was the start of a project born of intuition, hard work, and an opportunity within a business incubation program, the PHDC Business Incubator. But as in many shared stories, the dream soon began to fray.
“Problems started to arise because we didn’t know how to manage things… and that just kept piling up.”
While some on her team looked toward new ideas—like expanding to a food truck—Guadalupe saw something different: chaos, a lack of structure, risks that could jeopardize everything. “They wanted a food truck, and I couldn’t manage the restaurant plus the food truck. I saw that very early on.”
It wasn’t a minor disagreement. It was a clash of visions.
“They thought I was selfish, but no, I knew the accounting wasn’t in order, nor was the payroll.”
The cost of doing things right
What followed wasn’t just a business conflict. It was a test.
“Mistakes were made that came with consequences.”
Between poor decisions and a tragedy linked to the food truck, Osorno realized the business couldn’t survive without accountability. Amid the chaos, one of the hardest moments arrived: running out of funds to operate.
“When my uncle withdrew the $12,000 from the account and I had to pay the payroll. I was the one working, and they were taking the money.”
That’s when she took control, even under the most adverse conditions. With another account she’d managed to safeguard, she was able to pay her employees. It wasn’t just a financial decision. It was an act of integrity. And so, she chose to stay. To fight. To rebuild.
There’s a romantic notion of letting go, of leaving, of starting from scratch. But sometimes, true courage lies in staying. When the business incubator asked them if they wanted to close the restaurant, Osorno’s partners said yes….but she said no.
That refusal wasn’t stubbornness. It was clarity. Osorno knew what Boga Taco could become. She had seen beyond the present: a strategic location, a responsive community, an identity built on authenticity.
“In Washington, there’s no one like Boga Taco; it’s the restaurant with the most stars in the Pittsburgh area.”
That’s how a new chapter began in 2024. Alone. And at her own pace. Because one thing she learned from the experience was that you must first have a very solid and stable foundation, have an accountant, and handle the administrative side well, in order to devote yourself to what you love most: being a taquera.
Learning from Mistakes
The rebirth didn’t happen immediately. It came with learning.
“We almost went bankrupt due to poor management, and right now, thank God, we’re doing very well.”
Guadalupe understood something fundamental: cooking is not the same as running a business.
“I’m a taquera; I know how to cook, but accounting, social media.” As she says, in these business incubators, while they provide a good opportunity to start, it would be very helpful and necessary to guide people through management classes, because otherwise many businesses will be formed that won’t be able to sustain themselves.
With help—like that of her accountant—she began to rebuild not only the restaurant but its structure as well: payroll, cost control, suppliers, organization. Growth began to reflect this: “The restaurant only grew by 4% the first year we opened with my partners. The second year, we grew by 19% when I was on my own.”
Resilience: A Story That Goes Back Further
But Guadalupe’s strength didn’t originate in the restaurant.
“I suffered from domestic violence, and after all this, it feels like I went through something similar.” (Click here to read an el Restaurante article about Boga Taco’s first months in business.)
Her story is marked by difficult decisions long before Boga Taco. That’s why her approach to conflict isn’t impulsive, but deeply conscious.
“What has led me to where Boga Taco is today is being very resilient. I’ve had a lot of faith.”
Today, in the kitchen, there’s something different: ownership, pride, authenticity. “I can now say I have a profession: I’m a taquera.”
Every dish bears her mark. From the choripollo inspired by her hometown of Toluca to the quesabirrias that have won over the local crowd.
Beyond the business, there is another constant challenge: that of being a mother, a woman, and an entrepreneur all at once.
This business has shown Osorno that, in addition to being a mother, she has her own business and her own profession. She speaks of a balance that isn’t taught, but built day by day, between the restaurant kitchen and her home kitchen.
“I love being at home, but I also love what I do at Boga Taco.”
As she explains, everything is achieved through hard work. Sometimes success stories are told as if the path had been easy and full of celebrations. As Osorno notes, nothing happens overnight. Nothing is luck; it’s work.
Before thinking about expanding, she wants to systematize all the processes so they can be replicated. Because she understood something essential: a solid business isn’t improvised. It requires perseverance.
Guadalupe’s story isn’t just about a restaurant. It’s about a woman who chose not to give up, who decided to learn what she didn’t know, who faced what others avoided.
And who, in the midst of it all, found her own inner voice telling her: “Follow your path.”
Here Osorno shares one of her recipes:
RECIPE: Mexican Red Rice
Ingredients:
4 cups water
4 red tomatoes
1/2 onion
5 garlic cloves
1/2 cup olive oil
2 cups jasmine rice
2 oz. chicken bouillon (Knorr Swiss powder)
salt to taste
Blend the tomatoes, onion, and garlic with 1 cup of the water in a blender and set aside.
In a saucepan, add the oil and rice; fry the rice until it turns a light brown color. Once it reaches that point, add the tomato sauce and let it simmer for about 3 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Once the rice is seasoned, add the remaining water and taste to see if it needs salt. Once it starts to boil, lower the heat and cover it so it cooks slowly until the water is absorbed and the rice is tender.