PHOENIX — After 6 months of opening the first brick-and-mortar of ‘Lola’s Tacos,’ the owner will close its doors to the public come Friday, January 27.
The small business that started back in 2018 at pop-up events and then started serving their dishes at State Farm Stadium and opened the brick-and-mortar location the summer of 2022.
According to Lola Olivares, owner, the location will close as a restaurant [located on 880 E. Lone Cactus Dr] but will be used as her commissary kitchen because her business is still alive and there’s big things in the horizon.
The reason behind the closure? “Not enough foot traffic and I was having a difficult time finding help to manage to run the storefront and run the stadium at the same time when I had events. So, I would have to close here a couple of days, to go tend to the [concession stands at the stadium],” said Olivares to ABC15 Arizona and reiterated that they’re closing down with no regrets.
WHAT’S NEXT
Don’t worry, you can still get a taste of Lola’s Mexican dishes in the Valley, here’s two ways to do so.
State Farm Stadium: She's a subcontractor with the stadium, which means there are three concession stands of Lola’s Tacos. According to Olivares, when there’s concerts at the stadium, her business can be found on the fourth floor in concession stand #434. Once football season starts, you can check her business out on the fourth floor in concession stand 434 and in the club level with concession stands #209 and #237.concession stands at the stadium.
With several concession stands in the stadium, Olivares will be a vendor at one of the most awaited events in the Valley this year- Super Bowl LVII. “To be Mexican-American and a woman in this industry, I feel like I’m on top of the world,” said Olivares to ABC15. “Every time I’m at the stadium I give it my all, not only myself but the rest of my staff [too].”
‘Big Red,’ the food truck: For now, there isn’t a food truck stop schedule for the food truck- but once there is, it will be shared on the business’s social media accounts. On the other hand, the business owner confirms to ABC15 that she’ll be one of the food vendors in the VIP area at the Innings Festival in Tempe come February.
“I’M NOT A CHEF… SOY UNA COCINERA”
In a previous interview with Olivares, she shared that her dishes come from family traditions and it’s her grandparents who taught her how to cook.
“No, I’m not a chef… soy una cocinera [ I’m a cook] because that’s what my grandmothers and grandfather were… they loved feeding people,” said the business owner to ABC15.
“Mi abuelo [ my grandpa], he was from Sonora- so, my carne asada… I just don’t throw it on the grill, I marinate it the way my grandfather taught me how to do it,” said Olivares, “The salsas, the rice, the beans… las tortillas hechas a mano [the hand-made tortillas] … they are from my grandmothers' recipes.”
