Approximately one month after taquero Rudy Barrientos received a restraining order from Ralphs over operating his beloved taco truck, Gracias Señor, outside of their Pacific Palisades parking lot, the supermarket burned to the ground in the tragic fire that began there last week.
Nonetheless, Barrientos holds no ill will towards the corporation and instead, has been focusing his energy on feeding the hundreds of first responders helping to contain the fire in the Palisades, the neighborhood he’s been serving for over 10 years.
“I’m the kind of person that focuses his energy wherever my energy can flow,” he tells L.A. TACO, noting that the restraining order had also been dismissed. “And right now, I think that’s helping the community that allowed me to earn an honest living, which put me through school.”
Working with the emergency response non-profit World Central Kitchen, Barrientos has been working the graveyard shift for six nights since the fires started last Tuesday. Every night, starting at 10 PM and ending at 7 AM, he and his crew have been burning the midnight oil to serve his famous burritos complimentary to cops, firemen, paramedics, and anyone else pitching in to help during the Palisades fire.