A small taco stand on the corner of 7th Street and Termino Avenue that has become a favorite may soon be serving its last taco in Long Beach due to the city’s new street vendor rules.
Lines wrap around the block for the family-run and operated taco stand, Tacos Uziel. Owners Adriana Mancia and Luiz Perez said they started the taco stand for their son’s future.
“My taqueria is called Taco Uziel thanks to my son,” said Mancia. “We started this business for his future, so he won’t have to suffer as much as we had to.”
The young couple migrated separately from Oaxaca but met in Southern California as they worked for other stands around Los Angeles.
“I learned to cook little by little,” said Perez.
The training paid off with rave reviews of the stand’s el pastor and carne asada tacos.
“Sometimes the lines go all the way to the driveway back here, but we will stand in line because it’s that good,” said Chris Marquis, who lives in Long Beach and frequents Taco Uziel. “Hopefully they stay in Long Beach.”
The smell coming from the charcoal grill is enticing enough for drivers passing by to make a pitstop.
“I can smell the food from my car and I had to stop here,” said Donna Aragon, who lives in Long Beach and came for the first time with her husband to taste the tacos.
“It makes you hungry, even if you’re not,” said Keith Aragon.
Despite the taco stand’s popularity, Long Beach’s new vendor rules may force the stand to move.
“We don’t know how much longer we have here,” said Mancia.
Long Beach has been cracking down on unpermitted stands after working for months to educate owners on the new rules passed in February.
The city has even waived the cost of permits as well as licenses and is giving away 40 pre-approved carts that are now required.
To qualify for those carts you have to live in Long Beach.
The couple lives in Compton and said the permit process is difficult to understand.
“It’s very difficult to get permits because there are a lot of regulations for street vendors,” said Mancia,
The owners say if the city forces them to move, they’ll leave Long Beach for another city with more lenient rules.
Customers say it would be a big loss to Long Beach, not just the food, but the dream of a small family to give their 4-year-old a brighter future.
“If they move, we will follow,” said customer Maria Marquis. “Tell me where they are. Instead of walking over, we will drive over, whatever it needs to be.”