Moonshot
There comes a time in every foodie’s life where they’re sitting at a taco truck for the hundredth time thinking, I could do this. Or at least, that was the case with Miguel Esquivel and his wife Zuri Isais, who own a food truck in Marana called Taco Rico.
“Everything started because we are a big fan of always trying local, trying new things everywhere we visit,” Zuri said.
Every weekend since they were dating, they were out chasing the next new spot, the next new truck.
One day Miguel turned to her and said, “You know what? I would love to open a food truck in the future.”
At the time the dream felt like a moonshot. Both Zuri and Miguel grew up in small towns in Michoacán, Mexico. When I asked them what brought them to America, Zuri’s expression changed.
“Those are sad stories,” she said.
Miguel came from a family of eight siblings.
“In poverty, I always wanted to have something,” Miguel said.
Zuri chimed in, “he always wanted to be a pilot.”
But the circumstances never left that option for him, and work was hard to come by in Mexico.
Taking Off
Looking for opportunities, they left Mexico for California. Miguel worked French and Italian kitchens in Los Angeles for eight years before they moved to Ventura County to try to save money.
“He started working in strawberry factories, chili factories, and he’s like, ‘oh my God, they’re paying me nothing’,” Zuri said about Miguel.
Then, he met a food truck builder who saw something in Miguel.
“He saw the passion,” Zuri said.
They didn’t have the $5000 it would cost for him to build it, so Miguel worked two jobs and saved until he did. The money wasn’t the only hurdle for them.
“We didn’t know anything about cooking Mexican food,” they laughed together.
So he took a job at another man’s food truck on the side and learned while they saved and developed on the menu. Pulling on the palate they earned over the years spent trying new foods, Miguel and Zuri pieced together a menu.
“We worked together on those recipes. We got some of the ideas from our family and some ideas from us,” Miguel said.
The result is a menu that is short and sweet and authentically Michoacán.The recipe for the pastor taco comes directly from Miguel’s father. Bright and layered, the slice of pineapple on top bringing a sweet tartness that pairs well with the flavors in the chile-marinated pork.
Landing in Tucson
That menu they put together has barely changed since 2016 when they launched out of a CarMax parking lot in California: the same lot where he’d been washing cars to save money. After a few turbulent years dealing with harassment from competing food trucks and high rent, they started looking for a new home. His sister had been nudging them toward Tucson for years.
“There’s no tacos like yours here,” she’d told them. The thought of moving to the desert scared them, but they eventually caved.
”We didn’t want to leave California,” Zuri said. “Now we don’t want to leave Tucson. It has its own charm. We fell in love with this city, with the state, with the economy, everything. The people are very nice too. We love it here.”
Taco Rico has been operating on Ina Road right off the highway since they set up shop. You can find them across the street from the Fascinations serving the same menu from when they started 10 years ago.
“It’s a very simple menu,” Miguel said. “Tacos, burritos, and quesadillas. Because a lot of people are in a hurry. They have like 30 minutes break. And they want something fast, something good, and something cheaper.”
Zuri finished the thought: “We keep it simple and we do it well.”
The proof is in the quality of menu items like the Chorizo tacos.
“You see how it’s not very greasy,” Zuri said. “It’s more meat. Hearty meat.”
They use longaniza instead of standard chorizo. Better quality, she told me, and it shows. Smoky and spicy, the coarser texture allows the flavors to coat the roof of your mouth for a lingering experience.
The tripa is Miguel’s favorite.
“I could eat it every day,” he told me.
Wrapped in fresh corn tortillas, it’s crispy on the outside and melts into a rich, juicy, and tender bite I didn’t expect from pig intestines.
Before I left, Zuri handed me a horchata and a jamaica. The horchata is cinnamon forward and reminded me of the milk at the bottom of a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. The jamaica I had was hibiscus, sweet with a cranberry-like tartness. It’s refreshing and perfect for a hot day.
Customers First
One thing that Taco Rico takes pride in is their consistency, which brings regulars back for the rich flavors that remain unchanged over the years. Dave has been coming to Taco Rico since they first parked across the street years ago. Zuri pointed him out to me through the window as one of their best customers.
“It’s my favorite food in town,” he told me without hesitation.
That loyalty means everything to Miguel. Food costs go up every month and the margins get tighter, but he absorbs as much of that as he can rather than pass it on to his customers.
“80% of them work in construction, waste management, tires,” he said. “They get like $120 a day. They don’t want to spend $20 just for lunch.” He was one of those people once and he hasn’t forgotten. “I’m not thinking about me. I’m thinking about my customers first.”
While the core menu hasn’t changed, that doesn’t mean their dreaming has stopped. Taco Rico now runs a second truck, with a third on the way. New menu items like the birria on weekends have become favorites of regulars like Dave, who brought it up before I could ask.
“The birria on the weekend is just amazing,” he said.
Zuri isn’t surprised because that’s what they strive for.
“I’m always thinking how to please, how to make it better, how to make the customers happy,” she said.
The next dream for Miguel and Zuri is a brick and mortar; not just for the space itself, but for what the space would make possible, like a specific pot for a carnitas recipe. Slow-cooked dishes that take six or seven hours and an oven that won’t fit in the truck.
“We have a lot of recipes saved that we want to share,” Zuri said. “We always wanted to have a location, a building.” She glanced at Miguel. “We both are dreamers, I guess. We’re always looking for what’s next.”
Even now, running their own truck, Miguel and Zuri haven’t stopped chasing the next new food spot.
“We visit almost every single spot here,” Zuri said. “Even though we’re doing this, we don’t stop visiting local places, the new place, the new food truck.”
Miguel is confident about where Taco Rico stands in that landscape because he’s tried it all.
“If you want to try something different, something good, here’s the place,” he said. “I’m 100% sure.”
Zuri looked at Miguel.
“I never thought he would achieve all these things. Never in his life.”
The boy from Michoacán who wanted to be a pilot found his open sky behind a food truck window. Close enough.
Taco Rico is located at 4500 W. Ina Rd. For more information, visit tacoricoaz.com. Keep up with Taco Rico on Instagram.
