Today we’d like to introduce you to Tacos La Jefa. Them and their team share their story with us below:
Tacos La Jefa began with Heriberta Amescua’s dream of owning a restaurant. For years she sold at local festivals, outside of nightclubs, churches, and from her backyard. Her birria recipe became well known throughout the St. Louis region. With that new popularity, Heriberta decided to finally open Tacos La Jefa in September 2021. Since the first pop-up, Tacos La Jefa has offered Jalisco- style birria de Res (Beef Birria), has added chicken and veggie birria options.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been a smooth road at all. If we say yes, we’d be lying. We have a family quote saying “One day at a time”, and that is how we take it, one day at a time.
When Heriberta, first decided to move forward with her pop-up Birria Stand, many would question her age. This did not stop her at all… She decided to move forward to follow her dream. Opening in the middle of the pandemic, we had to take precautions. Unfortunately, sometimes these precautions were just not enough. In October 2020, the majority of our staff, which is our family got sick with covid just one month after our grand opening. This was very devastating, left us thinking “Should we keep selling?” The decision was made, and we decided to keep going…
Fast forward to today, we lost the owner behind Tacos La Jefa in April 2021, which was the biggest struggle and impact we have had since opening. Since we are a family-owned and operated business this took a hit on everyone emotionally, mentally and we were faced with the decision to keep Tacos La Jefa going or close it down.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Tacos La Jefa STL?
Tacos La Jefa is well known for our Authentic Jalisco- style Birra. A recipe taught in the family from generations before. One of our most popular items is our Quesabirrias followed by our Consommé. Since Birria become extremely popular on social media, many of our customers come to experience dipping their Quesabirria or taco into our mouth-watering Consommé.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Do not be shy, promote, promote promote. Use Social media platforms to promote, share pictures. Even if is one like one share or even one comment. Find someone who understands your needs as a business and even your personal needs. Someone who listens to your concerns and gives you a different perspective. Be open mind and never give up. There will be hard days but it will all be worth it when you see your success.
Contact Info:
- Email: tacoslajefastl@gmail.com
- Instagram: tacoslajefaSTL
- Facebook: tacoslajefaSTL
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/tacos-la-jefa-st-louis
Image Credits
Mabel Suen
