{"componentChunkName":"component---src-templates-article-tsx","path":"/primeperrotacosq&a","result":{"data":{"primeArticle":{"slug":"prime.perrotacos.q&a","excerpt":"Food trucks like Perro Tacos have become a staple among the Hill’s dining options. Through family, food and fans, see what life is like for a cook behind the line.","headline":"Behind the Bark: Q&A with Perro Tacos' Luis Garcia","author":"DAVIS HOFFMAN","authorbio":"","authoremail":"","authortwitter":"","coverimg":"https://assets3.dailybruin.com/images/prime.perrotacos.q&a/perro_8-3b3de615d4a0c613769f32f2edf6cf42.jpg","covercred":"ANDREW RAMIRO DIAZ","coveralt":"An image of students standing in front of the Perro Tacos food truck at night.","articleType":"article","updated":"","content":[{"type":"text","value":"Experiencing Los Angeles’ food scene doesn’t have to be an uphill battle."},{"type":"text","value":"Born of the city’s rich street food culture, UCLA introduced food trucks in fall 2021 as a temporary solution to post-pandemic staffing shortages at its dining halls. Although on-campus food truck presence has seen a <a href=\"https://dailybruin.com/2025/11/07/declining-number-of-ucla-dinner-food-trucks\">decline since fall 2023</a>, the trucks still remain a fixture in the UCLA Dining landscape, turning Rieber Court and Sproul Court into rich, culinary stomping grounds."},{"type":"text","value":"Similar to the culinary offerings of UCLA Dining restaurants, the food trucks serve a broad array of global cuisine, including Thai, Central American and New Zealandic dishes. Among <a href=\"https://dailybruin.com/2025/11/07/top-20-ucla-food-trucks\">the most visited trucks</a> is Perro Tacos, which serves one-pound Sonoran-style tacos."},{"type":"image","value":"{\"alt\":\"A UCLA student holds open a container of food from the Perro Tacos food truck.\",\"url\":\"https://assets3.dailybruin.com/images/prime.perrotacos.q&a/perro_6-c4d0ab0799d3707816656b35e1533452.jpg\",\"credit\":\"Andrew Ramiro Diaz/Photo editor\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"PRIME’s Davis Hoffman sat down with founder and general manager Luis Garcia to discuss the hilltop connections forged by the UCLA regular."},{"type":"text","value":"This interview has been edited for length and clarity."},{"type":"line","value":"{\"filler\":\"filler\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"PRIME – To begin, could you tell me a bit about yourself in relation to Perro Tacos?"},{"type":"text","value":"Luis Garcia – I’m the one that started everything. It was just me and my brother. Back in 2020, I was contracting. It was not going very well for us, so it threw me off. And then things started going financially bad, so I invested a lot of money, lost it and finished the job. From there, my brother turned 18, so I was like, \"Do you want to start a business or get a job?\" Since he didn’t want to go to school anymore, he was like, \"Start a business.\" From there, it was a quick reaction. We went straight to downtown LA to a place where they sell the grills and all the stuff for the taco stands. We bought the grill. We bought a few things from there. That was Jan. 10, 2020."},{"type":"pull","value":"{\"caption\":\"We went straight to downtown LA to a place where they sell the grills and all the stuff for the taco stands.\\\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"From there, we practiced (for) about three weeks straight, just making one taco on the menu. We didn’t have any experience cooking – none of that. Feb. 21, 2020 – that’s when we started. That was our first day on the street. COVID-19 hit us, so we got banned from the streets. It took us about four months. That was July 21 – I still remember. I’d seen a taco guy on the street around the corner from my house in LA, and he was selling no problem. I called my brother, and I was like, \"Hey, are we going to get back on it? We’re starting this Friday.\" Since that day, we haven’t stopped."},{"type":"text","value":"PRIME – The company website mentions how TikTok virality played a role in allowing you to purchase your first food truck. What was that moment like? Can you walk me through the exact moment you found out you had gone viral?"},{"type":"text","value":"LG – It was crazy. I remembered my son had a tournament in Arizona that weekend, so Mr Biggs – he’s a popular influencer, foodie guy – he came by a week before, took some videos and recorded himself eating the taco. He started mentioning, \"One-pound taco – you guys got to try it.\" It was Instagram. The video did okay, but then I called him, and I was like, \"Hey, why don’t you throw it on TikTok? You just have to charge me.\" So he posted it, and then I took off to Arizona that day."},{"type":"text","value":"My brother calls me. He was paranoid – \"Hey, I don’t know what’s going on, but we have a big line, like (a) crazy line.\" And it was a crazy line. It was easily 150 people lined up. We sold out in one hour. That video made everything happen. Everything started from there. The opportunities came. The truck came. (A) close friend got involved with us and partnered up. Since then, it started getting busier. People started to know about us, and, since you can’t get a taco like this anywhere else, it helps a lot."},{"type":"image","value":"{\"alt\":\"An image of students lining up for the Perro Tacos food truck at night.\",\"url\":\"https://assets3.dailybruin.com/images/prime.perrotacos.q&a/perro_7-ae8fe995492a9bef1360868aa05fa9d8.jpg\",\"credit\":\"Andrew Ramiro Diaz/Photo editor\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"PRIME – The COVID-19 pandemic hit close to Perro Tacos’ conception. What were those early days like, and how did that compare to the post-TikTok virality era?"},{"type":"text","value":"LG – I was blessed financially, and even my family got closer to me, so I got closer to my family. I’ve been working since I was a teenager. I started working more than regular hours – I do 60 or 80 hours a week, so I will hardly see my kids. And COVID came in, and it was a blessing for us. All the restaurants were closed, so for us, it was good starting from a taco stand. If I would have started in a restaurant, I don’t think we would be here today."},{"type":"text","value":"PRIME – How does selling on the Hill compare to selling off-campus?"},{"type":"text","value":"LG – It’s totally different outside. You don’t see those numbers. Let’s say we post a video and it goes viral – we don’t get a line since we have mastered our system, but UCLA is different. It’s a huge number out there, so you can’t compare it to the streets at all."},{"type":"text","value":"PRIME – Could you run me through a typical shift at the Perro Tacos truck at UCLA during the dinner period? What is it like?"},{"type":"text","value":"LG – The prepping time – we have mastered (it). We’re ready for big numbers. We know every time we go there, it’s a hitter. We just get ready for 800 to 1,000 servings. The processes start early morning. The meat gets done around 5 a.m., 6 a.m. The beans is the next step before taking off since we can’t do it out there, so it takes about another two hours. And all the veggies, they get cut. That one’s a little bit faster – I’ll say one hour, three guys. We get everything done. The guacamole – we smash everything before heading out there, so we have everything ready."},{"type":"image","value":"{\"alt\":\"An image of the window of the Perro Tacos food truck.\",\"url\":\"https://assets3.dailybruin.com/images/prime.perrotacos.q&a/perrotacos-21fc1f51bfe81df80f1d2cd3f56aa7b2.jpg\",\"credit\":\"Andrew Ramiro Diaz/Photo editor\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"PRIME –  What’s the line operation like inside the truck?"},{"type":"text","value":"LG – We have a guy for veggies. We have a guy for the meat and beans. We have a guy in the grill flipping cheese and tortillas and another guy just giving out orders. Another guy’s taking orders, and the other guy – we have him as a backup – so he’s running everywhere – refilling waters, ice, passing bags of meat, passing bags of cheese."},{"type":"text","value":"PRIME – What’s the dynamic in the truck during that shift?"},{"type":"text","value":"LG – It’s like everybody’s programmed, so it gets tense. If someone messes up, everybody starts pushing him – \"Hey, you can’t do this. Get it right.\" It’s the process that everybody wants to finish right. I guess we’re used to it, but, definitely, it feels good pushing a lot of orders out. That’s satisfying for the guys too."},{"type":"text","value":"PRIME – Looking back on your early UCLA days, how has your operation on the Hill changed from when you first started serving there?"},{"type":"pull","value":"{\"caption\":\"We’re known. It feels good. People will ask, ‘Hey, you work for Perro?’ and they get excited to see us.\\\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"LG – It made us better. It made us way better. With the way we have been doing things, we’re fast, but UCLA definitely made us better, faster. That’s like a training camp for speed. We took it like that. It just made everybody sharp and better."},{"type":"text","value":"PRIME – What has been the most gratifying part of catering to UCLA students?"},{"type":"text","value":"LG – Knowing that kids love our food. We’re known. It feels good. People will ask, \"Hey, you work for Perro?\" and they get excited to see us. Students (are) coming over to our restaurants, supporting us, even though they’re not allowed to get the food since they move up grades. Recently, I sent a quote for someone getting married from UCLA. Three years ago, she had our taco, and she was like, \"I had to hire you guys for my catering.\" So that feels really, really good."}]}},"pageContext":{"term":"fall25","slug":"prime.perrotacos.q&a"}},"staticQueryHashes":[]}