Charlie Cardenas has been selling tacos in his hometown neighborhood of Highland Park for 13 years, making a mark in the Los Angeles taco scene with his famous birria de res tacos and Mexican delights. Cardenas' bright red truck, emblazoned "Charlie's Tacos," can be seen on York Boulevard on any given day.
But on Sunday, July 22, Cardenas showed up at his location in front of the CVS on York and Eagle Rock Boulevard, only to find that the curb had been painted red.
“I got here on Sunday en la tarde (the evening) and was like 'ah cabron, what’s going on?' Because I didn’t know,” he told L.A. TACO in Spanish. “And the paint didn’t look professional like the other times I’ve seen them. But I moved to avoid getting any tickets.”
While Cardenas is familiar with having to move from location to location due to painted curbs, city rules, and the occasional issue with neighboring businesses, something about this particular situation did not sit well with him.
“I’ve been moved before so I know how the city works when they paint a curb," he said. "They usually have the cones, they put signs, and sometimes they let us know."
Previously, he spent ten years selling near York Park on Avenue 50, where he disclosed having multiple issues with another business owner next to the park.
“The owner was very racist and would call the city on us all the time,” he said. “We got ticket after ticket, and then the city put a bike lane there and painted the curb.”
After similar situations had happened in other locations, he finally found his new CVS-adjacent parking spot. While Cardenas has four other food trucks across Los Angeles, he said he has fought hard to stay in Highland Park, where it all started for him.
“This is where I grew up and where my business grew to what it is now,” he continued. “This is the community that supported me from the beginning.”
That very community has his back today—just one day after the curb was painted, a community page named The New York Boulevard quickly posted the news on Instagram.
Within 24 hours, people who work in the adjoining strip mall came forward with information that the person behind the sudden appearance of the red curb was allegedly the owner of one of the brick-and-mortar businesses here, based at the same location as the CVS.
“When I saw that, all I thought was, 'Thank God it wasn't the city,' because that means we don’t have to move,” Cardenas said, breathing a sigh of relief. “But it’s unfortunate that there’s a possibility that this business hates us so much that they went to the extreme of illegally painting the curb.”
Cardenas disclosed that one of the businesses in the area caught two men on its security cameras, who were seen painting the curb early Sunday morning. While they can’t identify the two men, they also believe one of them is the owner of a nearby business.
“I don’t understand it. We don’t sell the same food, but from my experience, there’s always going to be hate,” Cardenas continued. “Because if you have good food, with good sazón, and you’re selling more than the next person, they're going to get mad.”
Despite the curb still being painted red, Cardenas decided to move back to his location on Tuesday evening. He said LADOT did their routine parking enforcement checks and almost gave him a ticket.
“They gave me their supervisor's name so I can explain the situation to them. So they can let their staff know because LADOT passes through all day,” he said. “They wanted to make sure that the department knew so they can alert anyone else assigned to this area.”
L.A. TACO did reach out to LADOT to clarify if the red curbs depicted in the photos posted by the Instagram page were in fact, approved by the city, and they said the following:
“LADOT installed a red curb at York & Ave 50 as part of the bike rack installation at this location. The red curb near Eagle Rock Blvd does not appear to be an authorized installation. LADOT crews will review this location to confirm and remove it if it is determined to be unauthorized.”
When asked how soon they would check on the red curb, LADOT said they would do so, sometime this week or next week, depending on previously scheduled work and availability.
In the meantime, Cardenas continues to set up his truck outside the CVS and does not intend to move unless the city mandates it.
He said that, just as a brick-and-mortar business is known for its designated location, so are food trucks like his. And having to move even a few blocks down can impact sales.
“Even though we are very popular and have a lot of followers online, there’s a lot of older customers who don’t use any of that," he said. "They just know that at this time and this day, our truck will be there.”
This article was updated on 8/3/2024 to remove allegations by Charlie Cardenas since L.A. TACO could not verify his claims, and Charlie did not provide proof of the allegation.
