Tacos Jalisco owners struggle through injuries to keep their dream alive

Jase Arp, The Globe, The Daily Globe, Worthington, Minn.
·2 min read

Jul. 11—WORTHINGTON — Tacos Jalisco is a family-owned food truck business owned by Aurora and Noe Cardenas. The couple are natives of Mexico who teamed up to start both a family and a business.

Today, the Cardenas family is a family of six who cook and serve great Mexican dishes from their Tacos Jalisco Food Truck. In addition to Aurora and Noe, they have help from their two daughters, Nadia and Selena, their son, Aldo, and their son-in-law, Juan Carlos Lopez.

Before moving to Worthington, Aurora and Noe worked in Hutchinson, where they started their business by selling food from their home. They would cook for friends during parties and events in Hutchinson, and the more they cooked, the more they began dreaming of owning their own food establishment.

"Our dream was to raise a family and to start a business," Aurora shared.

Tacos Jalisco serves Mexican food including tacos, tortas, burritos, quesadillas, nachos and carne asada (steak) with rice, beans and tortillas. Included with the meals are your choice of meat — chicken, pork, steak or beef cheek.

Aurora's favorite — and most popular dish among her customers — are her quesadillas and burritos.

For more than 25 years, Aurora has worked in various restaurants, including Applebees and McDonalds.

"My whole life I've worked in the kitchen," she said. The experiences helped fine-tune her cooking skills.

Since opening their business in 2010, Aurora and Noe have also battled against injuries to keep it open. In 2014, Aurora suffered a back injury and they decided to halt their business while she recovered from surgery.

"He (Noe) said without me, we don't do nothing. It's pretty much a team," Aurora shared.

Six years later, in 2020, they reopened the business and added their own food truck.

Her past injuries have made it hard for her to maintain a food truck business, and she also recently underwent heart surgery. Meanwhile, Noe is in need of a knee replacement surgery. The couple hope to overcome their injuries and continue to serve their food around southern Minnesota.

Aurora is very thankful for her kids for sticking with her and helping her achieve her dream.

"I think we have made an American dream," Aurora said.

Aurora and Noe plan on keeping their family business for as long as they can. In the future, daughter Selena plans to take over Tacos Jalisco.

"She's my right hand," Aurora said of Selena.

Tacos Jalisco can be found on Sundays at Buss Field Park in Worthington, and on Fridays near Family Dollar in Slayton. They are open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m or until supplies run out.

Tacos Jalisco also attends festivals around Worthington, and caters for weddings and quinceaneras. People can find them downtown this Friday and Saturday during Worthington's International Festival.

To keep up with Tacos Jalisco, follow their Facebook page, Tacos Jalisco Food Truck.