A
wall in the new Yolanda’s Tamales Factory restau- became co-owner and married Sandra.
rant in south Sacramento prominently features an
Today, Yolanda oversees the kitchen and quality control.
illustrated portrait of a mother and son. It’s the “She emphasizes the quality of her food,” Sandra says. “She
same image that is on the food truck the family loves it to still taste homemade like day one when she start-
started operating earlier this year. It’s a cartoon of ed. Good portion size, good meat size on the tamales, that’s
owner Yolanda Vega and her youngest son, co-owner An- why I think a lot of people come back to us. They’re not the
dres Yanez, surrounded by unhusked ears of corn, monarch average small ones.”
butterf lies and marigolds, a f lower found in abundance in
Andres is in charge of the markets, events and food
Yolanda’s hometown of Zacapu, in the state of Michoacán, truck, handling setup and selling the food that his moth-
Mexico.
er has made fresh daily. Sandra works the booth and food
There are also family heirlooms: a metate, or a stone for truck, in addition to dealing with paperwork, email and so-
grinding, that Yolanda says is 180 years old and had been cial media. Other family members also occasionally work
passed down through the generations until it became the for the business, including Yolanda’s husband, Pedro Yanez,
tool she used to make masa, a dough from ground corn and her daughter and two other sons.
that’s used for tortillas, huara-
But sometimes running a
ches and many other dishes in
family business means not hav-
Mexican cooking. A cazuela, or
ing any free time to spend with
clay pot, has been incorporated
relatives. Their biggest event of
into the bottom of the portrait.
the year, Chalk It Up, takes place
“When her mom — my
in Sacramento over Labor Day
grandma — was still alive, my
weekend, when an annual fam-
mom asked her, “Can I have the
ily reunion also happens, which
metates?” She said no, but she gave
they always have to miss. “Some
her the pots,” Andres says, trans-
people don’t understand that,
lating for his mother, who speaks
but this is our career, and we’re
Spanish. “(When her mom) passed
trying to make our dreams come
away three years ago, she went to
true, and it’s a lot of work,” San-
Mexico just to pick them up, just to
dra says. “You can’t take a lot of
have them in her possession. She
breaks.”
Sandra Yanez, employee and Yolanda Vega’s
gets really sentimental when she
The family says their whole
talks about it.”
life
revolves around the busi-
daughter-in-law, Yolanda’s Tamales
“It shows how much she loves
ness. They will be working to-
food, even the stuff you use to
gether even more with the ad-
make food, it means a lot to her,” says Sandra Yanez, Yolan- dition of their brick-and-mortar space, just off Franklin
da’s daughter-in-law. “She takes a lot of pride in how she Boulevard, which is scheduled to open by October. The
makes food and what she uses.”
restaurant will sell tamales, along with burritos, tostadas,
“To not forget her roots,” Andres explains.
ceviche, and a selection of vegan dishes and aguas frescas.
At 11 years old, Yolanda started selling buñuelos (semi-
The restaurant — just like the food truck and the tamale
sweet fritters) and other local foods at street festivals around cart before it — marks a major milestone in Yolanda’s busi-
Michoacán. In 1984, she purchased a tortilla factory in her ness and offers a lesson in hard work and entrepreneurship
hometown. In 1988, she moved to Los Angeles and started for her nine grandchildren, say Andres and Sandra. “We
selling tamales out of her van. When she relocated to Sacra- take pride in her name being known,” Sandra says, “because
mento in 1996, she did the same thing, driving around town she has worked so hard for so many years.” n
and growing her clientele. In 2007, she upgraded to a tamale
cart and began working at events and farmers markets; the Sena Christian is managing editor for Comstock’s. On Twitter
business now sells at three local markets. In 2009, Andres @SenaCChristian or senachristian.com.
“(Yolanda Vega) emphasizes the
quality of her food. She loves
it to still taste homemade like
day one when she started. Good
portion size, good meat size on
the tamales, that’s why I think a
lot of people come back to us.”
October 2019 | comstocksmag.com
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