On a recent night, street vendor Reina Orozco was busy flipping tortillas on a makeshift grill as she prepared carne asada and chicken tacos to sell near MacArthur Park.
Supplies cost more these days, and Orozco sometimes has to cut back on the meat in his tacos that he sells for $1.50.
“Prices are going up,” said Orozco, 52, of Zacatecas, Mexico, “but that doesn’t matter to people who are hungry and bring money.”
Rising food and fuel costs have forced some street vendors to ration their supplies or raise prices for what some take for granted is affordable comfort food. But for many entrepreneurs, their livelihoods are at stake amid rising inflation.
Between April 2021 and April 2022, prices for meat, poultry, fish and eggs soared 14% across the United States, one of the biggest increases since 1979, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. USA.
The prices of vegetables and fruits have also risen almost 8% in the last year. The cost of propane, which fuels vendors’ grills, has risen 26% since last year, according to personal finance website The Balance.
In daylight, smoke from the grill at Avenue 26 Tacos in Little Tokyo wafts through the air, attracting customers who have just gotten off work. A huge piece of meat on the spinning top over an open flame and warm tortillas attract consumers.
The stand first opened on 26th Avenue in Lincoln Heights more than a decade ago. During the pandemic, a bustling night food market sprang up in the area, drawing hordes of foodies, more vendors, and eventually trouble. The city closed the night market last year for health and safety reasons.
Rafael González cooks up different types of taco meat at Avenue 26 Tacos in Little Tokyo on Thursday.
(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
César Reyes began working with his father when he was 14 years old, perfecting family recipes brought from Puebla, Mexico. When it became clear that his Lincoln Heights location was overcrowded, he looked for a new location to keep the family business alive.
Over the years, the family has raised the cost of their tacos from 50 cents to $1.75. But the Reyes family is always the last to raise prices.
“When everyone saw that we were doing well on 26th Avenue, they followed us and cooked food like ours. And then they started to raise their prices, but we have always made sure to be the last to raise ours,” says César.
Although food prices are skyrocketing, the Kings say they must also keep their customers in mind.
“We are not going to raise prices yet, because we have to think about our customers,” Erasmo said.
“Many of our customers are low-income people who enjoy our food and can’t always afford to pay more than $2 for a taco,” Cesar Reyes said. “Sometimes there are customers who argue about prices, but we have to tell them that it is not our fault. Prices go up and we will continue to make our food the way customers have always liked it. They don’t realize that if we don’t raise prices from time to time, then we might not be around.”
Brothers Miguel and Luis Contreras stood with their families in the shade of a school bus parked near the taco stands. Miguel said they spent about $60 on food for about six people and another $20 on soft drinks.
“Of course we are aware of inflation,” Miguel said in Spanish. “But you work, you come home tired and you want to eat, so he comes to get his food.”
“It can not be helped. We have to feed our families,” Luis said. “I know gas is expensive and it’s almost $7 in some places, but I still have to drive to work.”
The brothers work at a party supply store. They and their families eat at taco stands maybe once a week now, due to rising grocery prices.
“I don’t pay attention to the price of the taco”, admits Luis Contreras. “Maybe I should, but I don’t. I don’t usually ask.”
In the parking lot it feels like everyone knows each other. As customers line up and enjoy their tacos, some play music from their cars, while others simply use their car hoods as tables.
Kelsey McCoy and Sandra Gao often take out-of-town visitors to Avenue 26 Tacos.
“They’re probably the best in town,” McCoy said.
“We’re going to keep coming back,” Gao said. “Even if prices go up a little more. They are going up everywhere. Even the bacon-wrapped hot dogs seen outside Staples Center are already very expensive. They cost almost 9 dollars.”
At the other end of the parking lot, Karla Pérez eats a quesadilla with chorizo and has a taco al pastor on the side.
“I paid almost $12 for my quesadilla, it’s too much,” Pérez said. “The food is good but maybe too expensive. I don’t want to pay more than in a restaurant where I can be seated”.
Although some customers may complain about the prices, some of the sellers’ allies understand that there is more to it than just a simple pricing issue.
“I think people don’t understand the true cost of food,” says Rudy Espinoza, executive director of the nonprofit Inclusive Action for the City. The group advocates for street vendors and also offers micro-loans and business advice to aspiring entrepreneurs.
“Customers may see a street vendor and assume their food is cheap, or should be. And they may scoff if the price goes up from week to week. They want to think that food is always cheap. And that’s not real,” Espinoza said.
He does not expect the situation to improve any time soon with the high costs of food, fuel and services. He hopes that people realize the work street vendors have to do to prepare their food before they hit the streets and fire up their grills.
Since the start of the pandemic, more street vendors have applied for microloans and other help from their group, Espinoza said.
“There are a lot of people looking for capital for their food businesses, especially with food prices going up. They are struggling to pay all the hard costs, while making sure they don’t pass the costs on to their clients,” Espinoza said. “But at some point, they will have to. I think everyone has to contribute to this.”
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