Today we’d like to introduce you to David Aguilar and Julia Chavez.
David and Julia, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Vegan by El Zamorano was started by myself, David Aguilar and co-founder, Julia Chavez. Our idea came to life after visiting pop-up events in Los Angeles. As most of the vegan community in Orange County, we found ourselves driving 30+ miles to LA for vegan street food. I (David) went vegan about four years ago and saw the demand in Orange County for not only vegan street food, but community events. Growing up in my parent’s restaurant located in Santa Ana, I missed some of the dishes that you would find in the traditional taqueria, so I recreated them for myself to eat, and to eventually share with the vegan community. We decided that Orange County was long overdue for vegan street food, especially Mexican food. With the help from my family, we were able to start our weekly pop-up event on Sundays from 12-4 at Taqueria El Zamorano. We currently serve tacos, burritos, tortas, quesadillas, and agua frescas. Our main focus of the event is to not only bring the vegan community together but to provide good, healthy, and affordable food to our customers.
Has it been a smooth road?
The transition to a pop-up event has been smooth. I (David) grew up in a restaurant, and am very grateful to have experience with running a business and serving food. For myself (Julia), it has been one big learning experience. Unlike David, I did not grow up in a restaurant. I actually didn’t have much food experience, so learning everything was hard, but with the help of David, I was able to overcome the many obstacles I faced. Aside from the small bumps in the road, the biggest obstacles we faced are the ones life throws at you because life happens, we actually decided to take a break from our business. That to us on one of the biggest obstacles we faced, and ultimately health comes first.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Vegan by El Zamorano – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We specialize in homemade Mexican food. Our tacos are extremely popular, and did we mention, homemade tortillas? One big thing that sets us apart is that we make our tortillas fresh on the spot for every order. We also make our own Bomb af (cue the excitement) Mozzarella cheese which we use for our quesadillas. We are very proud of our authenticity, flavors, and freshness of the food. We are most proud of our customers that come religiously every Sunday, without them we wouldn’t be where we are today. If our customers are happy then we’re happy.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
We love that everyone is supportive, including the city of our growth. If there is anything to dislike, it’s that there’s not enough vegan restaurants in Santa Ana.
Pricing:
- $9 is our most expensive item
Contact Info:
- Email: veganbyelzamorano@gmail.com
- Instagram: @veganbyelzamorano
Image Credit:
Jan Frankowski, Julia Chavez
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
