The length of Highway 166 between Guadalupe and Santa Maria is skirted by quintessential California agricultural land. Farmland stretches for miles on either side of the road as workers fill crates of produce in the fields.
Coming from the east, near the corner of Salinas Road and 166, an oasis emerges. It’s the R Taco Truck owned by Cesar Gutierrez.
Gutierrez’s truck is contrasted by the flat landscape and the brown hills off in the distance. Huge, green John Deere tractors and semi-trucks kick up small clouds of swirling dust as they thunder past Guiterrez’ truck, which he purchased last month.
Sometimes referred to as a “roach coach,” these meals on wheels are abundant in the Santa Maria Valley. They’re a veritable lunching institution for the area’s laborers.
According to the Urban Dictionary, a roach coach is a “catering truck, especially one which frequents blue collar places of work; generally a modded pickup truck with insulated diamond-pattern doors covering a refrigerator case and a warmer unit with attached griddle.”
Or, you can just call them food trucks. Whatever the case, Gutierrez said he got a really good deal.
Serving burritos, tacos, tortas, cold drinks, and fresh fruit cocktails, Gutierrez’ truck fills the stomachs of hungry farmworkers and curious passersby throughout the day.
Speaking through his daughter, Yajaira, Gutierrez said the tacos are a popular lunch choice among the workers. He laughed at the notion, but said it’s true.
Even though it’s closer to Guadalupe than Santa Maria, the truck’s centralized within the farm fields.
There isn’t a menu or anything. Next to his truck is a glass case holding bags of ice, mangos, a variety of citrus fruits, and an upright shaved watermelon skewered on a stick.
Working with his wife, and sometimes his daughters during the summer months when school isn’t in session, Gutierrez makes all of his meals from scratch—except for the tortillas, of course.
The food’s cheap, too; everything is around $10 or less.
He opens his truck at 10 a.m. and shuts it down at 7 p.m. It gets busy around 11 a.m. for lunchtime, then it starts to taper off an hour or two later.
The Veracruz-native-turned-Santa Maria-resident enjoys life in the Santa Maria Valley. After immigrating to the United States, the then 31-year-old met his wife and started a family.
Gutierrez has lived here for 20 years. What keeps him sticking around? He said it’s the weather.
“The weather is not too hot and not too cold,” Gutierrez said, speaking through the small window of his truck.
Gutierrez said he once spent a month in Seattle to visit his brother, but found that it rained and snowed too much for his taste.
In the meantime, Gutierrez kicks it with his family on the Central Coast, taking a chill ride in his taco truck. With the words tacos, tortas, and burritos imprinted in bold, orange letters on the side of Gutierrez’s truck, it’s going to be hard to miss.
Highlights
• The City of Santa Maria unveiled its new recycling program on June 24 at Preisker Park. With 35 blue, 90-gallon containers placed in four parks in the city—Minami, Adam, Atkinson, and, of course, Preisker parks—citizens can recycle with ease. The containers are easily identifiable with recycling decals and can accept materials such as glass, plastic, paper plates, aluminum, steel and tin cans, newspapers, and juice cartons. Santa Maria Public Information Officer Mark van de Kamp said the program is a three-month pilot that could help establish long-term recycling habits. The city’s Utility and Recreation and Parks departments partnered with the group CAUSE to help educate residents about this new initiative, van de Kamp said.
Staff Writer David Minsky wrote this week’s Biz Spotlight. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, email, or mail.
This article appears in Jul 2-9, 2015.
