Cousin Is New Driver Of 'Taco Bus'

SEMINOLE HEIGHTS - Rene Valenzuela was 9 when he started his first business. His grandmother would help him pack his tacos in a cooler so he could sell them at the local produce market.

Born in Sonora, Mexico, he worked during high school and later owned two taquerias, restaurants specializing in tacos and burritos. In 1991, Valenzuela came to the United States and started from scratch.

"I was an employee and worked hard," he said. "It was all about savings, sacrifice and work. And not having a lifestyle."

Now 37, he is the new owner of El Taconazo. Known by regulars as the Taco Bus, the restaurant's kitchen is in a gutted school bus near Hillsborough and Nebraska avenues. Valenzuela bought the taqueria from his cousin Roberto Morfin and Morfin's wife, Monica, at the end of November.

Valenzuela said the Morfins were worn out and looking for a break.

"They left it with me. I'm family. I respect what they did," he said. "This is their baby. They wanted to leave it with someone they trusted."

Valenzuela said he extended the hours to include Mondays and Tuesdays. He closed the Mexican shop that shared the parking lot, freeing up spaces for restaurant patrons. He will use the building for storage.

Tofu now can be substituted for any meat on the menu, and Valenzuela also is adding daily specials, such as Monday's chilorio, a pulled-pork dish with ancho pepper sauce.

"Only thing that has changed is the owner," waitress Lilia Amperez said. "Everything is still good."

At the same time Valenzuela bought El Taconazo, which means "snap of the heel," he started the Plant City restaurant Monterrey Mexican, which his wife, Lladira, runs. The menu there is more extensive and the kitchen is larger, which allows them to bake desserts, such as the tres leches cake sold at El Taconazo.

Valenzuela, who makes regular trips to Mexico to learn from chefs there, said cooking is his passion. He said he grew up in the same region as Roberto Morfin and they share the same family recipes, so Taco Bus customers can expect the same authentic Mexican food.

"This isn't Tex-Mex," he said. "It's Mex-Mex."

IF YOU GO

WHAT: El Taconazo

WHERE: 913 E. Hillsborough Ave.

HOURS: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays

CONTACT: (813) 232-5889