Rookie Food Cart of the Year

Chulitas

Food carts are often where budding restauranteurs get their start, trying out their concept without the high overhead that can come with opening a new brick-and-mortar. That was the case for Chulitas—but instead of diving into the big, trailered food truck that so many start with, owners Olivia Carrasco and Edgar Tapia began with a brightly colored mini mobile cart that served aguas frescas—the fresh juice concoctions that anyone familiar with the Southern Cali dining experience will know
quite well.

After opening Chulitas on the streets of Bend in 2021 and gaining some traction (and followers, like me), Carrasco and Tapia added catering to their repertoire and were setting their sights on the next step. That’s when the owner of the new food cart lot, The Barn in Sisters, came in, inviting the couple to open a full-on food truck in the heart of downtown Sisters. By November 2021, Chulitas’ food cart was serving up its signature asada tacos, burritos and piles of filling nachos to hungry patrons in Sisters. Want a pile of yummy street tacos or some esquites—the iconic Mexican street corn topped with tons of goodness? This is your go-to for Sisters. Aguas frescas are on the menu, too, of course.

But this couple isn’t stopping there, either.

“We wanted to expand, and we still do—even though we’re just in that one location right now, we are going to be opening our aguas frescas cart in the summer,” Carrasco told the Source. “Hopefully another food truck in Bend at one point, or we would love to open up a restaurant.”

Wherever their dreams take them, Central Oregon is glad this dream started here.