Mexican food truck in Rexburg opening permanent storefront
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IDAHO FALLS – A popular food truck in Rexburg will soon have a permanent storefront.
Taqueria El Pollo Loco Jr. is slated to open on March 1 at 248 South Second Street next door to Taco Time. Owner Jose Perez tells EastIdahoNews.com El Pollo means “the chicken” and is named after his dad.
“His nickname is El Pollo. That’s what his family has been calling him since he was little,” Perez says. “He’s a little too crazy in a good way, a lot of fun to be around. We were like, ‘El Pollo loco sounds like a good name.'”
The restaurant serves Mexican cuisine based on recipes passed down through Perez’s family for generations. The menu includes carne asada, carnitas, tamales, tacos, quesadillas, tortas, burritos and more.
Perez says he started this venture in 2022 to make a living while attending Brigham Young University-Idaho. He’s since graduated and is pursuing an accounting career in North Carolina, but his parents are running the business on his behalf.
He’s thrilled with the response and to see it evolve into a permanent location.
“I’ve wanted to pursue entrepreneurship and this has helped me,” Perez says. “It’s fun to be there with my family, chasing that grill with them. We really enjoy people in Rexburg, locals and students, enjoying food that’s been passed down for generations.”
Perez and his wife started the business by knocking on apartment doors in town to sell their Mexican food to students. Eventually, they got a space at the Rexburg Farmers Market and later catered at the Madison County Fair, rodeo and other community events.
“From there, we took off and were finally able to get a food truck,” says Perez. “We got that in 2023. We got a second food truck a couple months ago near (the BYU-Idaho campus).”
Perez says they’ll continue to operate a food truck for community events.
Perez inherited his love of Mexican cuisine from his mom. She started selling carnitas years ago. After growing up on family recipes she shared with him, Perez says it’s an honor for him to provide a space where his parents, Alfredo and Ana Lilia, can continue sharing those recipes with customers.
“They’re hard workers. I’m proud to say that,” says Perez. “They came to this country (years ago) and they’ve been working since then. They’ve been in Rexburg more than 25 years and have watched it grow.”
The thing that appealed to Jose about this particular location is its proximity to students, who he says have always been their biggest supporters.
Perez also likes that it’s close to Porter Park.
He hopes the restaurant is a huge success for him and his family.
“She (my mom) wants to keep going. She wants to do events, she wants to do specials, she wants to do a lot for the community,” says Perez.
Taqueria El Pollo Loco Jr. will be open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
