🌱 Click here to how you can join in a tastier, healthier future: abovefood.com/investors/ Above Food is a revolutionary company that's not just feeding us, but also fixing our food system and healing our planet. From seed to fork, they're reinventing how food is grown, made, and enjoyed. 0:00 Peak Saturation 4:05 Neighborhood Icon 13:29 Fusion Perfectionism 26:13 Ruthless Empire
@@ztac_dex hmmm, crop that is spray with pesticides, than can be washed off with water, OR crops with pesticide as part of the crop that can't be washed away and gets injested when consumed, hmmmmm tough choice there. GMO is GMO whitewashing it with different words doesn't change that fact.
@@theboringchannel2027genetic optimization has been a thing since farming has been a thing, wheat, rice, almost every crop has been selected through thousands of years of “genetic optimization”.
Those vids where you go to the different businesses themselves and explain what sets them apart while explaining what the others (in general) do are Insanely good Keep up the work man 🙏🏾
I moved from Texas to SoCal 2 years ago, and besides the awesome beaches/nightlife, these food trucks are the next best thing, man. They are an essential backbone of the economy and life here.
I thought there was a massive exodus in California? I would prefer if people left the state instead of coming here. We have enough people. Please go back to Texas.
@@SamuelClemente7718 I moved to Cali for my work years ago. It has been an upgrade in every way besides the gun laws here sucking azz. I miss my AR-15s. Besides that, Texas is a pretty depressing sh*thole by comparison geographically, socially, and recreationally. I see why it's expensive to live here now. Life's pretty cool when you don't trust the news to live your life for you 24/7. Unplug from the Demo-rat or Republic-tard matrix.
It’s because at the end of the day it’s just what capitalism demands, to put profit over everything and to continue growth for growths sake which is non sustainable and will always put you at odds with other ventures that are also looking to growth and increase profit. It does not matter the area or type of business, the model they all operate in is the same.
Not always just like what the video showed. One business serves the neighborhood and there is also an honor system in place, however it might not last long with more food trucks popping up. @ericktellez7632
I definitely think this is such thoughtful content. I can really feel the respect you have for these communities, whereas sometimes people treat them almost like tourist attractions or that the owners are uneducated because they mainly speak Spanish. They are competent business people who have a finger on the pulse of their markets and actually getting interviews from them rather than just from academic work done on them is so important.
Dude, these videos are really, really interesting. I like how they're not just promotion for these businesses, but actual analyses of what works about them, and what doesn't. It really puts a human face to business.
The fusion place really reminded me of a butcher shop and grill I used to work at in the valley (in LA), also Armenian owned. Pretty much identical business structures (fusion butcher shop + grill) with the exact same type of owner. One thing I gotta give those Armenians is that they know how to run a hell of a business. that said, the owner was a really difficult person to work for. He was constantly monitoring everything in a very uptight manner, trying to find ways to catch us doing something wrong, testing our loyalty and he would dig in to us in the most verbally caustic ways in the rare event we did slip up. He was absolutely paranoid. I understand it. He probably had a lot of bad instances in his life and didn't want to lose the quality he had worked to maintain. after a year of going through the ringer with his antics and being offered a management position in one of his growing franchises, i left because the dude was an absolute nightmare to work for. keep in mind i was working 7 hour shifts without breaks literally every single shift i worked because buddy had no respect for his workers or labor standards. these guys spending thousands on their own food every month goes beyond the quality of the food. a good boss finds the balance between excess and deficiency, and if they're anything like my old boss, they probably break the scale of the former. that kind of management results in low employee retention because no one wants to work for a basketcase who looks over your shoulder every five seconds unless they're getting paid enough to deal with that, and 16 an hour doesn't include the emotional scars of a crazy boss. in case they scan through these comments sections like my old boss would've - keep the work ethic that got you to 2 million a year, loosen up, make the work environment positive and as stress-free as possible and don't look for reasons to fire someone. make work a place that people want to show up to. the only reason i worked that job for a year was because i was a senior in high school, it was covid, and no one was hiring. thanks.
That's crazy! How can you "price gouge" a taco? (22:40) You either buy it or you don't. "Price gouging" is when you NEED life saving medicine and the drug company says, "that'll be $1000 please".
When times get tough instead of revolting against the nameless and seemingly invincible corporations/institutions responsible for their misery they go after local successful businessmen, immigrants and each other simply because they are more accessible and easier to blame. This manifests itself as someone harassing their local taco restaurant instead of the executive who increased their rent, insurance and froze their wages.
Corporations are easy to blame but they are subject to the same pressures as these small businesses even if they can survive easier, usually due to economies of scale. However, I don’t expect any business to keep prices low out of the goodness of their heart just like I don’t expect consumers to pay more out of the goodness of theirs.
As a born and raised Mexican Angeleno the best thing I love about LA is the sheer amount of Mexican street food! Great quality without the prices of restaurants. You can get some banger seafood from foodtrucks
EXCELLENT VIDEO I have been cooking for over 52 years and have had my own cafe and roadside stands... and I learned a lot by watching this video... Thank YOU so much for sharing this.... I need to get up to the 21st Century.
Imagine a gritty, high-stakes Netflix drama set in the heart of Los Angeles, where four rival families, each with a generations-old secret, battle for control of the city's most beloved taco stands. These aren't just taco stands-they're the lifeblood of entire communities, and the food isn't just delicious-it's legendary. But beneath the sizzle of the grill and the aroma of fresh tortillas, there's a dark underworld where loyalty, betrayal, and revenge simmer just below the surface.
In business and econ classes, you learn about business strategy and competitive advantage, and restaurants are the main industry given as an example of perfect competition - they're in a ruthless race to 0 economic profit. Yet we see restaurants survive and thrive, so there's definitely still a secret sauce to success. Very happy to see this video. Amazing work as always!
15:00 sumac is NOT dried pomegranates it’s a flowering plant related to cashews (I’m allergic to nuts and also sumac but definitely not pomegranates. So when I heard him say that I googled it just to make sure and yup that’s so incorrect)
Can I just say, phenomenal job. I echo others when I say, I enjoy these videos where you allow business owners to speak for themselves while giving us a greater context. This was absolutely fascinating and just like your video on Nightclubs, I was surprised at just how into it I was.
Dude gave the hardest backhanded compliments to Silver Lake. Basically, people there are pretentious douches who have a lot of money but somehow also have a lot of time to spend it.
Or maybe you're not cultured or intelligent enough to know what's worth paying for? There are a lot of taco trucks in Los Angeles that are capable and want to do better food, but diners won't pay for better ingredients/preparations so the price (and quality) stays low. It's very funny, a lot of people won't pay for quality Mexican but they'll splurge for sushi.
They definitely shouldn't named the company with the word "food" in it. Because that word alone already made people imagine unprofitable food delivery service 😂.
They say “genetic optimization” as if people are scared of the engineering part instead of the genetic part. Not that there’s anything wrong with genetic engineering, but it’s quite clear above food is greenwashed as hell and dishonest by omission.
I didn't understand the sponsorship at all. I'm used to sponsorships being to try and sell a product. This was literally just "please buy the stock" for a company that just reeks of VC scam lol.
I live in LA and these tacos look delicious, but honestly I have no desire to sit on the side of a miserably loud highway and eat. LA is such a horribly designed city that it's uncomfortable just to go outside and walk. If you haven't been there and you think I'm soft, come and see for yourself. It's a miserable and dangerous city to walk around in due to super wide streets that cars fly down. I feel bad for these food vendors missing out on hundreds of thousands of potential customers who would rather stay inside than walk in LA. Great video by the way. I'm so impressed by how much you filmed and the stories you were able to gather.
idk man i walked a lot in l.a. when i lived there and it wasnt that bad. the current city i live in doesnt have sidewalks halfway thru my walk to the grocery store.
@@cerebrumexcrement I walk and bike and ride transit every chance I get. But I don't feel safe due to how little they care about pedestrians here. Not sure how long ago you lived there. Pre-2010 there weren't quite as many SUVs and oversized pickup trucks as there are now, which makes it so you can't see over the parked cars so you don't know if it's clear to cross the street. Where do you live now that they don't have sidewalks?
Would have loved to see a breakdown of each business’ costs. What’s their profit margin? Great stories, but curious for some more analysis and numbers (a la classic Modern MBA)
So basicaly here is what I learned from the video 1) First There is your Family Man (Los Gatos ) who is mainly responsible for his Food truck and offers food which is good and at retively comparable price with other food trucks in his neighborhood,If he is not there with his food truck,someone else will take his space.If he is ill for a longer period of time or absent from his food truck then he will have to forfeit that location and look for another location to avoid conflict of interest.But one thing that differs him from people who are working for 2 Sisters(La Quera Tacos) is that he is his own boss and he can work to his own hearts content and take a break and set his own rythm.. 2) Second you have Gourmet Style Tacos ( MidEast Tacos),They have worked in this industry for a long periods and have researced well into which neighborhood to settle in to justify thier prices.They are not traditional, they are offering something new with fresh ingredients and are continously experimenting with their food providing quality for their customers at a 30% high prices as compare to other taco Stand.But they need this because they have to a) Standard Wage to their workers b) They have to pay rent ofn their location c) They have to pay Taxes. e) They cannot compromise their quality which is their only Unfair Advantage in this business,So if the Raw material costs more then they have to raise their price even more to make a profit. 3) Thrid you have the Shark Sister( La Quera Tacos) I will justify why I call them sharks.Here you have a taco stand run by two sisters and everything is good until you deep dive the rabbit hole. a) They have food trucks which are movable so NO Rent. b) If you notice their workforce they are either Latinos or Mexican,Now Both of these ethnicity are migrants and some may be legal entry in the USA but most of the unfortunate are illegal Immigrants who came looking for work in USA.So the sisters basically can pay minimalist of wage to her workers who are desparate for work and will 7 DAYS A WEEK without any holiday or supposed Pay raise for years,in Turn the sisters ensure them of providing them a roof and a job to work in and earn money. d) They sisters can exploit the workforce and and hire and fire N number of workforce because there is no short supply of migrants,Few may leave and there are hundereds waiting in line to take the place.The Stand is run by three people with very specific role to fill in so there is no problem of giving training for extensive periods ot time ,Just basic stuff is necessary because the menu is no Extravegant.. e) The Sisters are working like mafia and taking territories and stablishing dominance,NO NEW TRUCKS CAN Operate in their territories.And they hav e absolute monarchy of that area.. So my conclusion is this :- The La Quera Tacos ( Two Sisters ) Will open numerous more locations and will eventually be the winner in this,The MidEast are Doomed until they have a major Investor backing them to open new resturants,Because tomorrow they sisters are going for the Mideast Tacos,They will do it because they can and they will to establish dominanace and sabotage the Establishment because all they have to do is roll out two truck from two different directions which are going to The MidEast Tacos.And GUYS LIKE the (La Gatos) can always be intimidated because he is just one truck and can be taken care of easily by hook or crook.
I own a restaurant they primarily sells tacos Opened in 2019, I’m probably in the middle of all of these but in a worst location. I’m ready for an interview whenever you want mba :)
Yea I found it odd that there was no push back against such aggressive pushes against the spirit of the honor (as opposed to the letter of the system). What is prevent them or others with reasonably deep pockets from absorbing short term losses to claim territory in upcoming areas extremely as much as possible? I'm going to guess that she gets some protection from people who are willing to apply a bit more physical force in that community.
@@randomyoutubebrowser5217 The population of an LA neighborhood is risk averse to fly-by-night taco stands with no reputation to back them or new gimmick. That's just common sense in avoiding illness from eating street meat. Theoretically, you can out-muscle your competition but you can't make people buy your tacos. Good product or good word of mouth go a long way in LA street tacos.
@@mrrodriguezHLP I don't disagree, but that wasn't what I was saying. Is the honor system meant to prevent a decently reputable established chain with deeper pockets from absorbing short term losses to claim territory in upcoming areas extremely aggressively as much as possible? If the answer is no, then have other companies also tried this approach or is La Guerra special for some reason? If the answer is yes, then why is La Guerra getting away with this? To be honest I don't know much about the Taco scene at all to know if La Guerra is the biggest chain or if there are other bigger chains out there also exploiting this honor system. Which then further brings to questions how this system will evolve as the market gets saturated.
Appreciate the field spotlight you’ve been digging into as of late. It gives well deserved attention to small businesses, and their unique insights and this style of investigative reporting makes Modern MBA unique in the area of finance/business RU-vid channels. Keep up the good work team
So? Try paying rent for a restaurant in LA. You can't make money. The Jewish landlords won't let you. $30k and up for a location depending on what neighborhood? How can anyone make money? I'll take the taco truck.
I like the report but some of what Rocio is saying in Spanish is not being subtitled correctly either by bad translation or lack cultural understanding over the deeper meaning of some words. For example, in @28:28 she says "paisano Mexicano," that means somebody that was born in Mexico and moved to the USA as an adult and not Mexican-American like the subtitles show and also following up quickly in @28:41 she says "la gente morena" is subtitled as brown people but what she really means in Mexican slang is Black people or African Americans. There are a few other things but those 2 where the most obvious mistakes and or lack of understanding what the deeper meaning, whoever is doing your translations is being literal and doesn't understand the community and it shows.
Super interesting. Thank you for the deep dive. Fascinating how different players can take different approaches, methodologies, and execution and still be able to carve out their own niche within this highly competitive market. This shows the power of creativity, follow-through, and hard work. Much respect to all the business owners hustling to grow their business. They are an inspiration. and thanks to ModernMBA this was very educational. Except now I'm hungry. LOL
I always love the amount of research that goes into these videos, and the dedication to explain and understand businesses from a wider perspective is so nice to watch. Amazing work ❤
I really appreciate these videos of different industry entrepreneurs. You’ve found good examples of small businesses that have put their own spin on their business, which to me is the entrepreneurial aspect of serving something that may be familiar already. I’m curious what kind of businesses you are interested in profiling, beyond food, or even food options themselves.
That's always been my conspiracy theory with generic stands. Especially the way she spoke about bringing in the undocumented workers; having lawyers and doctors. It would give them an avenue to employ those who had debts to payoff. I don't think it's a stretch to think they would have a hand in a business with lax regulation . Also why the secrecy about all the locations? And they never showed the other sister lol Just weird vibes
Really excellent video! Very fun to see my home neighborhood represented as well - I respect the effort to do real, boots-on-the-ground interviews. Makes it so much more engaging
I own a food truck myself and I loved watching this We are a stationary ghost kitchen All of our dishes are purposely, curated and organized to bring a elevated feel to breakfast. Some dishes are classic with a few tweaks to bring the experience to a new level and some of them are innovative concepts. Prices are more than gas stations and fast food but lower than true the high end fast casual Since we do breakfast the food cost is lower We focus on the Instagram crowd but get young professional walk-ups and university students
I kove this format. Please do more videos like this about small businesses. Maybe next time about the crowded commercial and residential cleaning business.
You know if just one mediocre LA Mexican food truck opened its doors in Michigan they could be extremely successful given how few Mexican restaurants there are but that means leaving home and establishing a foot hold in an relatively untested area. I say this because I've eaten Mexican in Michigan and believe me even a mediocre restauranter could be successful and own the market.
@@tgo007there would also be issues with the entire supply chain. Are there grocery stores that will hold the produce they need? Are there folks that can service the good truck? Are there laborers that can make the food to a good standard? Will you be able to spread the word-of-mouth and marketing
@@timothynguyen4446laborers would be the big issue. I am from a smaller college town/city in Michigan and even with our low cost of living, even all the fast food places hire at $15 an hour-> and they still can’t get fully staffed! My father’s company in the manufacturing sector starts wages at $22 an hour plus benefits and they never stop hiring.
Thx for foing this videooo! My Dad does taco catering on the side and even though its different, they're lots of similarities, and the competition is very fierce even in the bay.
These last few videos, the nightclub video, donut video and this one are AMAZING. Like I am blown away that you're just putting these on the internet instead of selling to like HBS. Make an accompanying study guide. :)
Crying in Austin, where $5.50 taco is just a norm, and most restaurants are just hip fusion places 😢 I'm jealous of ppl in bigger cities and I miss authentic hole-in-the-wall spots.
I used to live in LA a lot of years ago and a group of us from work used to drive all the way down to Lucy's (at the :15 mark) for tacos and etc. Surprised it is still open. I wonder if they still give big paper bags filled with chips with orders.
This was really interesting and super informative. thank you for highlighting a business that I think too many of us take for granted. I appreciate the taco spots much more after this. Awesome video !
Just wondering on the legal aspects of food trucks, how are these trucks being regulated? Do they have to pay rent to the city? And how do they do their taxes? Because in my town, these are good places to avoid paying taxes.
Thank you for this as I’m currently setting up a taco business. I get the same pushback on pricing as well. People don’t understand the labor that goes in
I go to that exact tacos la Guerra off Soto like 4 times a week. My favorite tacos in LA by far. Awesome to randomly see them pop up on my RU-vid recommended.
Really loved this one. Midwest tacos reallt showcase the love and care but trying to capture a higher market and reinvest in a larger community visual. Del taco reallt showing how to be business cutthroat but not sacrificing workers, community, and scale to do it. Also just recognizing the higjlight the respect abd loyalty that is built to keep spaces, workers, and customers.
I love your videos. This one doesn´t have subtitles. I'm from Portugal and a use your subtitles to translate and learn english. Can you please put the subtitles please? Sorry to bother you.
I miss the guy who use to be on Soto a block or two down towards the 60 freeway butt up against a truck parking lot. He smoked his meats on mesquite charcoal and hand made tortillas. I think he may have sold and is in South Central in a brick and mortar. I have to go find him, during daylight hours, of course.
there's a taco stand in tijuana that makes their beef birria with chocolate and avocado leaf to add a oaxacan touch since the early 2010's (way before the US even had a tj style quesabirria joint ).
L.A is a food mecca, I plan on getting to L.A one day, likely after I drop another 30 pounds because when I get there I plan on eating my weight in food. I wish we had Taco empires in Michigan, more Mexican restaurants are opening in my area but I would be happy if we had the same amount of Mexican restaurants as we do pizza, burger chains. I don't count Taco Bell as being food fit for consumption even though some of my family members eat it.
I remember one of the best taco places was in the middle of the produce district in some distributing center that served workers This was in early 2000s when I used to visit my dads work
Simply a fantastic video, I respect both of the different approaches and attitudes by each vendor, Love learning about how they got to where they are now. More of this please.
At first i thought it was outrageous the price Mid East was charging but hearing the owners break down the why, I’ve added it my list for my next trip to LA
