It’s 11:15 on Saturday morning, the tables are clean, and about a dozen people are eating. The sizzling smell of meat floats around the building, and Spanish music plays through the speakers.
Running to the middle of the lunch rush, customers come in and order. Asada and pastor tacos sit at the table, ready to be eaten with onions and lime on the side.
The ceiling is lined with pinatas with many different characters on each one. Sunlight is coming through the windows, letting in the natural light from the outside.
You would typically think an adult owns and runs Tortilleria Lupita. However, it’s owned and run by a high school senior who’s had it since middle school.
Even though Rider’s Misael Vargas is involved in band, Spanish Club and Key Club, he manages to own his restaurant off Old Iowa Park Road.
“The whole restaurant takes away most of my time. I try to balance my time out as well as I can,” Vargas said, “Most of the time, it is just getting out of school, doing what I have to do from school and just going to work, returning home and doing more work.”
Starting a business isn’t easy. It takes time, effort and work, especially if you’re nearly starting from scratch.
“We had to renovate the building because it was pretty run down. It looked kind of ugly on the inside, (we) fixed the walls,” Vargas said. “It was a lot of work at first, and it just took off once we finished renovating everything and getting everything where it was supposed to be.”
Going inside the restaurant, Vargas sells more than just delicious asada and pastor tacos and neza plates. He also sells ice cream, Mexican treats and some American candies.
“We sell a bunch of candy,” Vargas said. “And apart from the food, which is the main thing, candy, and we sell ice cream, we also have a bunch of Mexican candies and treats.”
Most of you are probably thinking: He’s a senior. What about college? However, Vargas has an idea of what will happen.
“I imagine my parents are going to take care of it for now,” Vargas said, “In the future, I’m not entirely sure what I want to do with it, but I might keep it. I might develop more on it, I think.”
Tortilleria Lupita is open every day except Tuesday. Most days it’s open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday it closes at 4 p.m.
