"Taquería Frontera's owner, Juan Carlos "JC" Guerra, hails from taco royalty - his father, Antonio Esquivel, owns the small chain Tijuanazo Taquerías - but with Taqueria Frontera, he set out on his own. Guerra's cooking quickly impressed Los Angeles, garnering positive write-ups from the Los Angeles Times and L.A. Taco, as well as a glowing New York Times review. Within 18 months of opening the first location, the young restaurant owner began preparing for expansion and secured a lease in the former Silver Lake Modern Eats."
""The ICE raids started, and it didn't feel right to have a grand opening in June," he says. "I grew up near Echo Park Lake and still love going to eat at street vendors, and so many were closed. I didn't feel like celebrating when the streets looked dark and empty because people weren't able to go to work or go out to eat.""
"In July, the New York Times review made it impossible to delay any longer. Frontera started to see 30- to 40-minute wait times with overseas tourists pulling up in an Uber, still toting luggage, or visitors from Ventura driving down for Frontera's asada chorizo, birria, or lengua, on a torta, burrito, mulita, quesadilla, vampiro, or quesotaco. Taquería Frontera's corn tortillas are made in-house with El Grano de Oro masa, imported weekly from Tijuana. Both locations feature a massive trompo, visible to diners,"
Taquería Frontera opened its first Cypress Park location in 2024 and remains busy in Northeast Los Angeles. A second Silver Lake location opens November 14, offering tacos, tortas, vampiros, and al pastor shaved directly from a large trompo visible to diners. Owner Juan Carlos “JC” Guerra comes from a family of taqueros and built a following through favorable coverage. Guerra delayed the planned opening amid ICE raids before moving forward after heightened demand. Both locations make corn tortillas in-house using El Grano de Oro masa imported weekly from Tijuana.
Read at Eater LA
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