Jun. 27—Editor's Note: The Globe's summer intern, Jase Arp, is writing a special series of stories about the licensed food trucks operating in Worthington. This is his fourth installment in the series.
WORTHINGTON — Juan Gomez and his wife Zulma worked extra hard to save money over the past decade to purchase their own food truck. Their dream became a reality early this spring, when they opened the Taqueria Gomez food truck.
Juan is from Jalisco, Mexico, and Zulma is from El Salvador. They met while working in the same restaurant, Taqueria La Juanita, in Storm lake, Iowa. Juan and Zulma each have a long history in cooking, as they have worked in a variety of restaurants for over 20 years.
The couple has always wanted to own a food business, and began working toward their dream when they moved to Worthington 10 years ago with their two sons.
"It was my dream for a long time. We had to work hard to save up and have our dream become a reality," Gomez said.
He and his wife have teamed up to prepare excellent dishes, with Juan bringing his Mexican flavor, and Zulma adding her Salvadoran cooking flare to create scrumptious cuisine.
"We don't skimp out on quality and quantity," shared Gomez, who has four employees helping him. "We work hard to please our customers and are always happy to hear good reviews and see people come back and bring more friends."
Gomez has big plans for the future of his budding business. This summer he plans to acquire tables and canopies to set up around his food truck for customers. In the future he is also hoping to add pictures of the food he serves on his food truck so customers know what they are buying.
"The way you see it, is the way you get it," Gomez added.
Another goal of his is to stay open longer hours into the evening, and someday, perhaps, to have his own restaurant.
"That's our goal." he said, "And we want to do it here in Worthington."
Gomez's favorite — and most popular dish among customers — is their tacos. They also serve burritos, quesadillas, tortas and nachos. These dishes come with your choice of meat — steak, seasoned pork, cheek meat, beef tongue or chicken.
The Taqueria Gomez food truck is parked in the lot adjacent to Hair & Beyond on Tenth Street, in Worthington. They are usually open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Gomez keeps busy during lunch hour, sometimes running out of supplies before closing time. Therefore, times may vary.
To track when the Taqueria Gomez food truck is open, follow their Facebook, Taqueria Gomez LLC.