Tacos Villa Corona opened a new location on York and Eagle Rock Boulevard in August. According to the owners, husband and wife David Flores and Lizette Reza, Flores’ mother originally opened Tacos Villa Corona in Atwater Village 31 years ago.
According to the Tacos Villa Corona website, the original owner, Maria “Nena” Arechiga, grew up in Culver City and took inspiration for the restaurant from the home-cooked meals her mother used to make for her father. Arechiga called her mother ‘Mamalicha,’ and her specialty was cooking potatoes, eggs and freshly made flour tortillas, the website said. Today, the restaurant continues to serve this potato burrito. According to Reza, after Arechiga passed, Flores took over the business.
“About six years ago, my mother-in-law got sick,” Reza said, “She sadly passed away, so my husband inherited the business. That’s when I came to help out.”
According to Reza, the restaurant was popular in the neighborhood, but it became a staple after Anthony Bourdain visited the Tacos Villa Corona Atwater Village location for his show The Layover on the Travel Channel.
“We were famous in our neighborhood, and then Anthony Bourdain came, and he made us global,” Reza said.
According to The Eastsider, Anthony Bourdain made the following comments while eating the restaurant’s famous chorizo and potato breakfast burrito: “Holy crap. This is a whole different story […] Wow. I could eat this whole thing.”
Flores said Taco’s Villa Corona aims to keep prices low so that students can afford it, while still making good food.
According to Mika Lequericabeascoa, a long-time customer of Tacos Villa Corona and resident of the area, she was excited to see that this second location was opening.
“I started going to the Atwater location when I first moved out here, back in 2002,” Lequericabeascoa said. “It’s just been a staple in the area. Everyone’s always known that if you want a breakfast burrito, this will be the number one spot people tell you to go to.”
According to Lequericabeascoa, she believes this new restaurant makes the neighborhood seem more familiar, and the community feels more at home.
“This corner has been a little weird over the last couple of years,” Lequericabeascoa said. “Some things have come and gone. But I think if word gets out that this restaurant is the same as the Atwater location, and from the same family, then they will come support and the restaurant can stay on this corner.”
Flores said this location has been on his radar for quite some time. According to Flores, as soon as he saw the opportunity, he was ready to take the necessary risk to accomplish his goal.
“I’ve been eyeballing this spot for years now, over 10 years, but I never thought we’d get it,” Flores said. “I saw the ‘for lease’ sign and called [the phone number]. Then we were able to get it. I guess I manifested it. Not only did I manifest it, but we were also ready to shoot. When the opportunity came, we were ready to execute.”
According to Flores, he wants to ensure that anyone who comes to the restaurant will have the best service possible, with a quick and delicious burrito for anyone on the run.
“We can satisfy people with the luxury of giving them a burrito fast, cheap and delicious,” Flores said. “I know sometimes students look at their wallets and there’s not much in there, but you can always count on us.”
According to Flores, since the restaurant is so close to Occidental, he wants to ensure that it will be somewhere students can feel comfortable. Flores said recently, a group of students came in early in the morning, and he believed they felt safe in the restaurant.
“We are right by the school, and it’s a good neighborhood,” Flores said. “Students sometimes want to be kids, and we are watching out for them here.”
Flores said he wants the restaurant to be a sweet memory for students who go to Occidental.
“When they look back at their time at Occidental, they can also remember us,” Flores said.
Contact Edgar Zatarain at zatarain@oxy.edu
