Pittsfield Food Truck Offers Homemade Mexican Fare
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There is a new family-owned food truck serving authentic, homemade Mexican food to Berkshire County.
Owners Nancy and Cain Serrano opened La Chalupa Y La Enchilada — a play on their daughters being a "little one and big one" — on March 1.
"I had a lot of help from a lot of people," Serrano said in regard to building the food truck. "I appreciate all of my friends, thank you."
Seven years ago, Serrano first had the dream to own a food truck so that he could continue his passion for cooking while spending more time with his family.
He took four years of investigation to learn the ins and outs of the business, traveling to Florida, Kentucky, Connecticut, and New York to observe how others work. Serrano began building the truck on March 14, 2020, at the start of the novel COVID-19 pandemic and did all of the construction with the help of an engineer and designer.
Before Serrano came to the Berkshires from southwest Mexico City more than 20 years ago, he worked in a metal mill where he acquired skills in welding. Locally, he worked in many upscale Lenox kitchens including The Gateways, Cafe Lucia, Ulta, Prime, and Church Street Cafe.
"I started working at Church Street Cafe the next day when I came from Mexico," he explained. "I worked for 11 years at Church Street Cafe."
Serrano's recently passed mother taught him to cook at the age of 11. She was his inspiration for the food truck, he said, and there is a salad named after her on the menu.
With his talents in metalwork and cooking already at hand, Serrano acquired skills in business to make his dream a reality.
"And I said, 'OK, I have this and I have this experience. I can do my food truck.' And I built in everything from zero from the box of the trailer," he said.
Since its grand opening, La Chalupa Y La Enchilada has met with success, he said. It was first located near Berkshire Medical Center on Waconah Street and then moved to North Street near A-Mart.
Serrano said their first Saturday was "so busy," but he was thankful for the business's 3 p.m. close time because, in a traditional kitchen, a cook never has Saturday night off.
When the pandemic permits, he hopes to offer his food at events such as Third Thursday in Pittsfield and the Lenox Apple Squeeze. For now, the family is just happy to have a flexible schedule that makes for more time together.
"I love summer and I love winter, " Serrano said in regards to the seasons of the Berkshires.
La Chalupa Y La Enchilada is open on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and can be found on Facebook, Instagram, or on the street.
Tags: food truck, mexican food,
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