Taqueria Chicali opened in January at 77th Avenue and Indian School Road in Phoenix, but it began years earlier in Susana Marin’s Phoenix backyard in 2017. Tacos have been the family tradition for generations, with several of her family members owning taquerias in Mexicali.
“I was pretty much raised like this,” said her son, Ivan Palomino, who runs the taqueria alongside his mom and stepdad, Ruben Flores.
He and his parents moved to the U.S. in 2004. Now, twenty years later, they are successfully running their own taqueria in Phoenix. “We don’t come from a rich family or anything like that, you know. And obviously, even though it’s one restaurant, it’s an accomplishment, for somebody that comes for nothing,” Palomino said.
Palomino dreams of opening more locations and turning Taqueria Chicali into a massive taco franchise, where “when people want tacos, they think of us.” But quality is the most important thing to him, so for now, he’s focused on running the restaurant and learning new things every day.