Meet Sylvia Rivera of Puffy Taco Shack in Surprise

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sylvia Rivera.

Sylvia, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Well, it all started from watching too much Food Network. First, I saw an episode of fun factories. The cotton candy caught my attention. It looked like fun and so easy to do. Ordered my machine and then had to figure out where to go from there. My first event was July 4th. Yikes! I found out that hot weather and cotton candy do not get along so well. But all in all it was a good start.

I was at the right place at the right time for my first big job. Surprise Spring Training! After a few years, I added burritos and a few years after that, I added the puffy tacos. Wow, those were received very well. At first, they are a curiosity for most people. Some people had them and were happy to have them locally. And so now here I am still working at Surprise Spring Training (12 years) and owning my own little mobile kitchen (going on four years).

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
For me, it has been a fairly smooth road. I say it is because God is good to me. I have a friend in the food business and they were very helpful to me. It is always a smooth road if you have good people in your life that are willing to go above and beyond in order to help you succeed. I was able to draw up my own layout plan for the health department.And the schematics for the plumbing were done by Impact Plumbing (my favorite son in law) and the electric by another wonderful electrician. With their help and my savvy from interior decorating skills, we were able to get approval on the first try with the health department. And now here I am with my own little mobile kitchen that is as busy as I want it to be.

Please tell us about Puffy Taco Shack.
Puffy Taco Shack is my little company. As the name suggests, puffy tacos are the specialty. They are different than street tacos or regular tacos. Our puffies were chosen #3 out of 200 food trucks and restaurants in the Phoenix area. I am proud of that. If anything sets me apart from the other food trucks it is the puffy taco. Everyone has their own little twist on their own food. And we are, at this time, the only ones that provide the puffy tacos in the valley. Well that we know of, of course. I’m also proud of my helpers. I couldn’t do it without them.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
When I first started with the food truck idea, I just went at it. I never thought “what if I can’t”. If I had to do it again, I would build a bigger kitchen. I wouldn’t change anything. It is meant to be what it is.

Pricing:

• 3 Puffy Tacos (choice of beef, pork, or chicken) $12
• Quesadillas $7/$9
• Burritos $7/$9
• Shaved rib eye torta $11
• Bunuelo chips , sopaipillas $6
• Fresh squeezed lemonade/iced tea/Arnold Palmer 32 oz $4

Contact Info:

• Address: 16426 N Greasewood St
• Phone: 602 501 3251
• Email: puffytacoshack1@gmail.com
• Instagram: #puffytacoshack
• Facebook: @puffytacoshack
• Yelp: Puffy Taco Shack

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