For the past couple of weeks, something has been missing in downtown Tucson.
Every Tuesday and Thursday you could count on seeing a cherry-red trailer parked outside of the Joel D. Valdez Main Library, making the air smell like warm, homemade corn tortillas.
To-go boxes with gorditas and molotes were constantly shuffled out of the trailer, with customers happily leaving with their meals in hand.
But recently, the space outside of the library has been empty.
No need to worry. OaxaRico is still here; it's just moved down the street.
Mole with carnitas from OaxaRico.
OaxaRico has opened its first brick-and-mortar at 151 N. Stone Ave., moving into the building that once housed The Little One. The Bautista family is ready to serve meals that come straight from the heart, transporting customers to Oaxaca with every bite.
Since 2022, you could find Leidy Bautista and her parents, Silvia and Oscar, in their bright red OaxaRico food truck, cooking authentic, flavorful Oaxacan dishes in a small trailer kitchen.
Leidy said they had wanted to make the jump from trailer to restaurant for a while now. When the space that once housed The Little One became available, it seemed like the stars began to align.
“We’ve been downtown every Tuesday and Thursday for the past two years, so we already had clients here," she said.
OaxaRico officially opened on March 15. Since then, Leidy said lunch hours have been packed with customers wanting a fast bite and food with the rich flavors of Oaxaca, Mexico.
OaxaRico has opened its first location, at 151 N. Stone Ave.
Tlayuda, tamales with the banana-leaf wrapping, molotes, sopes and enchiladas are just a few of the dishes you can expect to see on the menu.
Most importantly, they have mole.
One of the main meals Oaxaca is known for is mole: a rich, dark sauce made from ingredients including dried chiles, peanuts, sesame seeds, chocolate, cinnamon and anise. The sauce is smoky, spicy and subtly sweet, giving the meal a complex flavor profile.
To make their mole sauce, Silvia uses more than 50 ingredients, making it a four- to five-day process.
Molotes from OaxaRico.
When I stopped by on a recent afternoon, I ordered a plate of Spanish rice, fresh corn tortillas and carnitas covered in mole negro. When I was finished, I knew OaxaRico would be my go-to place whenever I am craving mole (which is a lot).
OaxaRico is open Mondays to Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
