Local Family Fights to Save Lake Taco with Kickstarter
By Cole Goodwin
Lake Taco, an authentic family Mexican restaurant run by Maria and Enrique Ortega located at 1213 June Street in The Heights of Hood River, is in danger of closing its doors forever.
But this family-run business isn’t going down without a fight. Lake Taco has started a Kickstarter to help them raise $40,000 to get their business up and running at their new location at 606 Oak Street in downtown Hood River.
Photo Source: Lake Taco Kickstarter
Why?
The building their business currently occupies is old and in need of extensive repairs. As a result, the Oregon Health Department and the building owner have told Maria and Enrique they have until November 30th to move to a new space.
A still from the Ortega’s Kickstarter video showing some of the problem areas that need repair. Photo Source: Lake Taco Kickstarter
CCCNews journalist Cole Goodwin met with Maria, Enrique and their son Luis on November 11th to find out more.
Editor's note: Due to language barriers some of the quotes below may contain slight inaccuracies, but all quotes have been edited to the best of the journalist's ability.
The first thing I notice upon arriving at Lake Taco was that it was absolutely bustling with smiling customers enjoying the warmth of authentic Mexican food on cold winter day.
The second thing I notice was that despite the warmth of feeling on people’s faces, it was undeniably a bit colder than you might expect inside the restaurant and most people are still wearing their sweaters and hats.
Maria and I sit down and we go back and forth for a minute explaining our Spanish and English speaking ability and agree to do the best we can together.
I ask about the heat and she tells me that electrical issues with the building make it hard to heat the space.
Then I ask her to tell me about the business’s move.
She tells me that upon hearing that they would have to move, they got straight to work with the City of Hood River, The Next Door, Oregon State Liquor Commission, the Oregon Health Department, to ensure the future of their family-run business.
She tells me that she is excited for the move but of course she has some worries and busy days ahead of her too. After all, moving a business is a lot of work that requires approvals, licenses, certifications, renovations, hiring staff, business development and more, but overall, she’s choosing to keep a positive attitude and focus on the good in it all. In fact, she seems to glow, as if she were lit from within by her dream. And like a train on a track, she seems to be gaining speed.
I ask her how she does it all.
She tells me “It’s a lot of work,” but that her love of serving healthy food to the community, her love for cooking, her trust in God, and her desire to keep her family working together all help to motivate her when things get tough.
She tells me that the biggest challenge and the biggest gift of the move will be that the new 1,930-square-foot restaurant will be nearly four times the size of the space they have now. And best of all for this family of restaurateurs: the new kitchen will be large enough for them to explore their rich culinary heritage and share it with their community.
"Preparing healthy meals from scratch is a labor of love. We are excited to expand our menu to share more of our family's traditional recipes from Mexico," said Maria.
Photo Source: Lake Taco Kickstarter
Maria says that a love of cooking runs in the family and that she is lucky it does because she has recipes that have been handed down for generations!
An image of Maria’s grandmother. Most of Lake Taco recipes’ come from Marias grandmother on her mother’s side. Photo Source: Lake Taco Kickstarter
She gets a nostalgic look in her eye as she begins talking about the numerous seasonal specials from her hometown in Jalisco, Mexico that she wants to bring to the Gorge: a secret family recipe called sweet mole with pork meat, jugos frescos, and so many more that pretty soon I have to interrupt because all this talk of food is starting to make me really hungry.
“I’m very proud of Mexican food,” says Maria “It is a part of our world heritage.”
It’s true, in 2010, The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization declared that traditional Mexican cuisine was officially a part of the cultural heritage of humanity.
“So what makes Mexican food authentic?” I ask Maria.
“Real Mexican food is healthy. Real Mexican food is fresh and organic; it doesn’t come from a can,” she tells me. “I make everything fresh.”
I nod and point to the freshly made potato chips at the table across from us.
“You make everything fresh. So you made those chips today?!” I ask.
She nods.
Photo Source: Lake Taco Kickstarter
“We make everything fresh, and if we do not have room to make it, then we buy it fresh from local farms and vendors,” she says.
Then we circle back to the topic at hand: the move. A modern kitchen and larger building also means more seating, an expanded catering business, space for private events, a full bar, and even space to make and sell their own homemade flour and corn tortillas.
Enrique is looking forward to getting to carry on his mother’s legacy and her flour tortilla recipe in the new space. Photo Source: Lake Taco Kickstarter
“I really want this for our customers,” says Maria. “I want to offer them a better experience; I want them to be warm. We love The Heights, but we’ve outgrown the space, and it’s time for a change.”
The restaurant is truly a family-run restaurant. Maria and Enrique and their children all help out in the restaurant.
“I like to keep my family together,” said Maria.
I ask Maria’s son Luis about the move and working with his parents. He tells me that although the move is “honestly, stressful,” but he is very proud of them for pushing ahead.
“As long as we can all work together we can handle anything,” says Luis.
Luis taking his lunch break at his family’s restaurant.
Maria says she is not sure if any of her children will want to take over the business one day, but that it’s important to her to set a good example and show her children what is possible when you work hard, pursue your dreams, and aren’t afraid to take a stand for keeping your family and your business together in the face of adversity.
“This is my dream; I don’t know if it is my kids’ dream. I want to support my kids' future,” says Maria. “I like showing my kids they can make something of themselves, especially my daughter. I want them to have their own dreams. When my children are ready to fly, I want them to fly high.”
I must look hungry by this point because Maria suddenly asks her son Luis to bring me some chocolate de agua and some fresh home-made potato chips.
Thinking of all the ignored groceries in my fridge I start to tell her “You don’t have to do that...”
But she is already telling me all about their traditional Mexican Hot Chocolate.
“This chocolate is very good, it comes from Chiapas,” says Maria.
Something about her reminds me of my own mother in that moment and I realize I’m rooting for her. It’s hard not to root for someone who clearly has so much passion and has clearly worked so hard.
And after I have my first sip of chocolate de agua and homemade chips I find myself crossing my fingers for her, hoping her business gets the money it needs so that I can come back to enjoy more of her delicious cooking because fresh home-cooked food just tastes better than anything else. It just does. There’s just no getting around it.
Some fresh made chips and salsa to go! YUM!
I thank her for her generosity.
She thanks me for coming to do the story, and as I’m leaving she reiterates to me how grateful they are to this community, which has been their home for the last twenty years. And how grateful they are for the community’s support and patronage these past eight years.
Then she tells me she hopes to keep paying the communities kindness forward once they get up and running. She tells me she’s been envisioning a pay-it-forward program at her new restaurant. Patrons could opt to pay an extra $1 on their meals to help pay for free freshly cooked meals from Lake Taco for a community member in need.
I tell her that sounds like a great idea, and I say my goodbyes as a second lunch rush starts to fill up the restaurant.
If you want to support Lake Taco visit their Kickstarter campaign.
Anyone can pledge to support. Pledges start at $15 and go up to $2,500. Pledge rewards include: food, private events, private cooking classes from Maria, and tickets to Lake Taco's grand opening party. Anyone who pledges more than $50 will receive a package of handmade, fresh tortillas when Lake Taco’s tortilleria is up and running.
The Kickstarter campaign will run through Dec. 7, 2022. The funds will be used to make building improvements, buy furniture, tableware, cooking equipment and refrigeration, and upgrade its information systems.
To learn more about Lake Taco including the cute story about how the restaurant got its name click here.
Support Lake Taco!
Anyone can pledge to support.
