Taco truck brings authentic Mexican food to Squamish

The inspiration for Luz Tacos started with co-owner Hector Aragon’s love for vintage Airstream trailers.

“They’re an icon of American culture,” Aragon says.

In Aragon’s home country of Mexico, trailers and camping are less ubiquitous than they are in Canada, so Aragon fell in love with the distinctive egg-shaped campers after moving to this country.

His first Airstream was a 1971 model. His second was a 1950s model that he rescued from the mud at a farm in Nanaimo.

“They’re money pits. At one point, my wife said, you can’t have two trailers. You need to sell it or do something with it,” Aragon says.

Aragon had the romantic idea of starting a food truck in the distinctive vintage Airstream, but it wasn’t until he met his business partner and Luz’s executive chef, Rodrigo Rodriguez, that the vision came to life.

“We just clicked,” Aragon says.

“We’re both from Mexico. He had the knowledge and experience of the food and flavour of Mexican food, and I had the business experience.”

Rodriguez, a classically trained Mexican chef who has cooked around the world, together with Aragon, painstakingly restored the iconic Airstream, installing a professional kitchen.

They spent a year planning a business and perfecting their recipes before launching Luz Tacos, a gourmet food trailer and custom catering company that is open seven days a week for lunch and dinner outside local craft brewery A-Frame Brewing.

“We wanted to share our culture and our heritage with people who really appreciate it,” Aragon says.

Luz Tacos offers authentic Mexican food, made with the freshest ingredients from scratch. Its customizable menus include various choices made in-house, including tacos, burritos, quesadillas, ceviche and more.

Aragon and Rodriguez’s partnership works because the two complement each other’s strengths.

“He’s completely one part of the business, and I’m the other,” Aragon says.

While the vintage Airstream sparked the business idea, the space is no longer big enough to accommodate their growing business, which is now busier than ever.

“We physically can’t fit in the truck anymore,” Aragon says.

Luz Tacos will have a new home soon, a large commercial food truck, which will allow them to serve even more customers.

“We’re excited to get our new truck,” Aragon says.

“But we’ll always love the Airstream.”

To order online and learn more about Luz Tacos visit luztacos.com.