Brrring: When the clock strikes 1 a.m., Beth Rangel’s alarm sounds.
Soon after, she starts cooking meat and prepping ingredients to make the day’s batch of tamales.
Call Beth
Beth’s Tamales and Tacos opens at 11 a.m. Tuesday through Thursday and at 10 a.m. Friday and Saturday, closing at 11 p.m. On Sundays it’s open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Find the hot pink trailer at 3596 Orcutt Road in Santa Maria. Call (805) 598-0367 for a catering quote or visit bethstamalesandtacos.com for more information.
By 8 a.m. Rangel has left her house, flying down the road in a branded white and pink van to sell tamales door-to-door.
“I run like a chicken without a head, I call myself,” Rangel said. “I just ask, ‘You want to buy tamales?’”
She hauls dozens of fresh tamales on a different route each day of the week. Communities as far south as Solvang and as far north as Paso Robles see her coming: Beth’s Tamales and Tacos.
This dedication to the tedious process earned her third place at the Atascadero Tamale Festival in early May. In the gourmet category, Rangel’s chili relleno tamale took home bronze.
Though placing at the festival makes her proud, Rangel is a tamale pro. She’s been in business for 15-plus years, first selling strictly door-to-door until she bought the food trailer. It’s been parked on Orcutt Road in Santa Maria for about five years.
“When I got it, I was on the floor counting pennies and everything,” she said. “And finally, I was able to afford it.”
Her mornings continue on the road, selling as much cornhusk-wrapped stuffed masa as possible to make the early start worth it. On a recent Wednesday morning, before she met with the Sun, the chef experienced an unprecedented bump in the road.
Around 10:30 a.m. the van got a flat tire on Rangel’s drive from San Luis Obispo to Arroyo Grande. She doesn’t keep a spare. But Wednesdays are her biggest routes, and she wasn’t going to give up. Or miss the interview.
“I still had a lot of tamales, so you have to think fast,” she said. “OK, what do you do?”
Rangel called her daughter for a ride. They sold every last tamale.
The matriarch who started it all, Rangel’s mom, taught her kids how to work hard and earn a living. Now, her picture proudly watches over that legacy on the back of the bright pink trailer.
When Rangel was 10, she started helping her mom make tamales in their kitchen. The family had recently moved from Mexico.
“She had 16 kids, so out of those kids I don’t know why I was so attached to her,” Rangel remembered about her childhood. “I would help her spread the masa on the corn husk, and then she would fold them and put the meat on them.”
After Rangel made the business her own, she’d bring her young kids along for deliveries, but they’ve grown up now. If she’s lucky, Rangel ends her door-to-door sales around 1 p.m. before heading to the trailer for the rest of the day. If not, she’s out on the town in the evening trying to empty her inventory.
Not every day is a good day, but Rangel believes that when God closes one door, he leads her to the right one.
Some doors open easier than others. People know Rangel. They know her routes and count on seeing her to buy lunch for the office or an easy weeknight dinner.
“One of the doctors in San Luis, on his wall where he has all his diplomas, he has a frame that looks like a diploma, and it says, ‘No solicitors except the tamale lady.’ And that was me,” Rangel said.
Though it’s common to see Rangel driving the van, the sight of her empty vehicle stationed on the side of the road that Wednesday was unusual. It was so strange that Rangel got a call from a worried customer asking if she was alright.
“It made me feel so happy because people care about me,” Rangel said. “You should see where [the van] is at. He probably thought somebody kidnapped me or something!”
Another concerned customer left a comment on Rangel’s Facebook post about the mishap.
“Beth are you OK!! You need any help?” they typed.
This kind of response isn’t new. Rangel said not a week goes by without a customer sending a text raving about her tamales. It’s her motivation.
“I am blessed to always be able to give [to customers] because they always support my business,” Rangel said.
She’s proud of her work and knows her worth. The Orcutt resident is trilingual (including American Sign Language), has college experience, holds certificates in human services, and runs Beth’s Cleaning Service. Outside of the professional sphere, she’s a wife and mother.
“And I still ended up being the tamale lady,” Rangel said.
Generosity is the name of the game. She tells her cashier and cook at the trailer to feed anyone in need even if they can’t pay. The business also supplies events hosted by schools, nonprofits, and businesses.
“I’m a giver. I just love to give,” she said.
Perhaps the biggest lesson she’s learned running the operation is how to problem solve. After speaking with the Sun, Rangel was on her way into Medina Tire and Suspension, the shop next to where the trailer is parked, to inquire about replacing the van’s flat.
On new wheels she drove home, and by 9 p.m. she was in bed. But only for a handful of hours.
Staff Writer Madison White wishes Beth Rangel a restful sleep every night. Send your wishes to mwhite@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in May 14 – May 21, 2026.