
By Jeremy Gerlach
Courtesy of the Carrboro Commons
According to the 2010 census, there are no Hispanic-owned restaurants in Carrboro. There are chain Latin-themed establishments, yes, but none are owned by anyone in a Latino community that comprises more than 13 percent of Carrboro’s population.
Yet on any given morning, you can walk past tienda after tienda – and by night, taco truck after taco truck. Why are the numbers – or lack thereof – hiding the Latino food industry from the Carrboro consumer?
José Torres is a community specialist at the Carrboro branch of El Centro Hispano, a Durham-based grassroots organization dedicated to strengthening the Triangle’s Latino community. He says that Hispanic businesses, especially in the food industry, often fly under the radar.
“The Latino community in Carrboro is full of businesses that may be smaller or less advertised,†says Torres. “Some are so small that the census doesn’t even count them.â€
“El Centro Hispano tries to help [businesses] network through our community outreach, but they also have had some innovative efforts of their own,†Torres says. Carrboro’s taco trucks, for example, have taken to Facebook, Twitter and other social-networking sites.
Despite these efforts, he still does not know how many Hispanic-owned businesses actually exist in Carrboro.
Annette Stone, director of the Carrboro Chamber of Commerce’s Office of Economic and Community Development, was also unsure.
“We help businesses of all demographics find loans,†she said. “We haven’t worked specifically with the Latino community.â€
Alfonso Guzman, owner of Captain Poncho’s Tacos, has been in the food industry for three years, since moving to Carrboro from Mexico. He ventured an educated guess.
“I would say there are about four to five taco trucks competing in Carrboro today,†he says. “It changes, because sometimes you are making money – or sometimes you have to pack up for a while.â€
While his taco truck is undergoing renovations, Guzman has opened up a permanent sister store, Tienda don Poncho.
“It’s nice to have a grocery store too – but it’s harder to advertise,†he says. “With the taco trucks, you can just go right to the customers.â€
According to Guzman, the four Carrboro-based, Hispanic-owned taco trucks are Comida Mexicana, Costa Sur, TaquerÃa de Jalisco and Captain Poncho’s Tacos. Permanent grocery stores and restaurants include Tienda don Poncho, Don José Tienda Mexicana, Toledo’s TaquerÃa and TaquerÃa Tres Amigos.
Isabel Lin Guzman, a local immigration attorney and Alfonso Guzman’s wife, said that the biggest difference between Hispanic-owned businesses and the larger chains is the authenticity of the venue.
“We take the time to make [Tienda don Poncho] a real Mexican grocery store, just like it would be in Mexico,†she says. “It’s smaller and it might not show up in the ads, but we want people to know that businesses like ours are the real thing.â€
Torres says that in addition to the lack of exposure, entrepreneurs like the Guzmans face issues like loan availability.
“Most of these businesses only need very small loans to start up, and we try to educate them and refer those individuals to the right sources,†says Torres. “But even micro-loans are still difficult to get.â€
That said, he foresees a growth of Hispanic-owned businesses in the area.
“The community here is well connected, and the businesses are networking now too,†he says. “Carrboro’s Latino community is making some real innovations.â€
Jeremy Gerlach is a UNC student writing for the Carrboro Commons, a bi-weekly online lab newspaper for Jock Lauterer’s Community Journalism class at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.