Mexican mobile chef opens storefront

Aug. 6—Leonel Sánchez Lara's days of curbside cooking al pastor are done, in favor of a new eatery of his own along Frederick Avenue.

Sánchez Lara's signature roasted pork and steak tacos and quesadillas have been a go-to pairing with a beer from River Bluff Brewing, the Angry Swede or other St. Joseph bars. As of this summer, Leo's Tacos is found in just one place, beside the Speedy's Convenience Store at N. 25th Street and Frederick Avenue. It features an expanded menu and seating to anchor a new investment at a location where several Mexican establishments have come and gone.

"To get started is a challenge, it's always a challenge," Sánchez Lara said in Spanish. "But we go forward with a positive attitude and we dedicate ourselves to each dish we prepare. We do our best to make each dish the best it can be."

Sánchez Lara, who hails from Celaya, in central Mexico, decided with his wife Marbella Garcia that although the business they had was good, the logistical challenges of moving from place to place don't best serve their burgeoning business and growing family.

"It's more sensible for us to have one place to offer more meats, like steak, pork chops, sausage, ribs and chicken," Garcia said in Spanish. "Also, we can do things like cook tacos with mushrooms. We have a more expansive variety now."

The decision also conforms more with the local sit-down restaurant model. In his hometown, Sánchez Lara said, taco stands on the street are a dime a dozen, where the proprietor carves fresh meat from a vertical rotisserie and combines it with a tortilla in various ways. This style is called "al pastor" because it was pioneered by Arab shepherds, cooking lamb on a spit before an open fire. Mexican dishes prepared this way usually feature pork.

"It's been great to have this here," said customer Jaden Phelan. "You can sit down, order out. You can always pick it up, order ahead of time, it's always ready, it's always hot, and always good."

From this point, Sánchez Lara said, he hopes to expand his business and meet new people.

"Our personal goal is growth," he said. "We don't want to just stay here in St. Joseph, we want to expand beyond a little, so that people know the name of Leo's Tacos as a place for good food. I have had this goal all my life."

Marcus Clem can be reached at marcus.clem@newspressnow.com. Follow him on Twitter: @NPNowClem