Labors of Love

With tacos at the forefront, these owners aim for authenticity | Photos by Jay Paul

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Roja Taco Joint

220 E. City Point Road, Hopewell

“We have everybody in here, and it's like a kind of a community place,” says Meredith Dean, owner of Roja Taco Joint in Hopewell. “I love it.”

The self-taught cook has years of experience in the food industry, from serving and bartending to dietary consulting and operating a catering company.  

Dean says her passion for Latin American cuisine stems from trips to the region. Since 2004, she has traveled to Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. In December 2019, she debuted Roja Taco Joint.  

Dean attributes the popularity of the restaurant’s carne asada tacos to the dish’s preparation. Customers can order the meat, which is marinated overnight, on tacos or nachos. 

El Guapo food truck

Last year, cousins Javier Ornelas and Rene Garcia took the knowledge they had gained from years of working at their family’s restaurant, Mi Hacienda, to roll out their own ventures: El Guapo food truck and Hacienda Catering Co.  

“We had always wanted to do our own thing, so we figured the best way to start would be the food truck,” Ornelas says.

Although the pair moved from Mexico City to Virginia at a young age, they strive to offer traditional Mexican cuisine and say they are inspired by annual family visits to Mexico.

Available on and off the truck, the catering arm of the business is known for its tacos and currently offers 14 versions, including picadillo, shrimp, chicken tinga and lengua. Ornelas and Garcia say they are looking to expand the list, and that what makes them unique is their handmade blue corn tortillas.

Big Chile food truck  

9515 W. Broad St., 804-309-6238 

Like many immigrants, Christian Izquierdo Miguel and his brother Geovanni Izquierdo Miguel moved from Mexico City to the U.S. in search of a better life. In 2016, their search led them to the Cheesecake Factory kitchen, where their passion for cooking was ignited.  

Three years later, the brothers decided to open their own business, the Big Chile food truck. The greatest challenges for Christian were getting over his fear of failure and not receiving any help getting started, he says. Nevertheless, the pair continued following their dreams, motivated by their mother and siblings still living in Mexico, as well as by their food influenced by the cooking traditions of Mexico City.  

One of their signature dishes is suadero — a thin cut of meat that comes from an area between a cow’s belly and its leg that’s served on tacos, tortes and sopes — along with birria tacos, which have gained popularity in recent months. Christian says they make everything “with heart.”