What started as a humble taco truck (built from what was originally an ice cream truck) more than five decades ago, left a permanent mark on the city’s vibrant food scene. So much so that on Tuesday, April 21, the city granted King Taco’s original location the prestigious designation of Historic-Cultural Monument.
The site, at 1118 N. Cypress Ave., now benefits from protections that allow the city to temporarily halt demolition for up to a year while preservation options are reviewed. The decision follows earlier approvals by the Planning and Land Use Management Committee and the Cultural Heritage Commission.
King Taco: America’s first taco truck
Back in 1974, Raul and Lupe Martinez bought an old ice cream truck and converted it into what is widely considered the country’s first mobile taco kitchen, introducing Mexico City–style street tacos to a city that mostly associated tacos with hard shells served in sit-down restaurants.
Writer and journalist Gustavo Arellano has even credited the Martinez with helping pioneer the modern taco truck, sparking a movement that would eventually put mobile Mexican cuisine on the map across SoCal and beyond.
That humble truck, affectionately named La Güera (“the blond”), quickly became a street sensation in East L.A. Within six months, the Martinez family opened their first brick-and-mortar location in Cypress Park. That original site served as a central kitchen and eventually grew into what is now a beloved local institution.
Today, the SoCal staple operates 22 locations across the region and remains perhaps one of the most distinctive Mexican restaurant brands in the city.
