Carlos and Lina Alvarez are achieving their dream after opening Zilantros Tacos, a food truck, on Cinco de Mayo in 2022. 

After moving to Michigan from Mexico in 2010, Carlos Alvarez said his family was determined to open a food truck. It took four years before they opened.  

“We were surprised the very first time that we came to Hillsdale,” Alvarez said. “We were obviously not prepared and we ran out of food the first time, and we were like, ‘Wow, this is amazing.’” 

Although the truck goes to several places outside of Hillsdale, their Hillsdale location is 184 W. Carleton Road, and its hours are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Thursday.

Alvarez said his wife does all the cooking, and their daughter, Ruth Ramos, helps with the business as well. 

Zilantros serves Mexican street food, so they do not offer the same traditional Tex-Mex options as most Mexican restaurants in America, Alvarez said. 

“We don’t have any sour cream, lettuce, or tomatoes for our tacos, because that’s not how they are in the streets of Mexico,” Alvarez said. “That’s the unique part of it that we offer.” 

Alvarez said when people ask for those ingredients, most are very understanding and accept the unique food they have to offer. 

They first began the business mostly operating in Hudson, but Alvarez said he finally decided to give Hillsdale a try, and owners of the parking lot at Lewis Street and Carleton Road were accommodating and let them set up shop. Customers have kept them busy ever since the city gave them the green light, Alvarez said. 

“I just want to say thank you to everybody,” Alvarez said. “Here at Hillsdale and everywhere we go, we got a really good response from everyone.” 

Junior Hannah Allen said Zilantros has the best tacos in town. 

“They are often busy but it is worth the wait,” Allen said. “The flavorful meat with cilantro and your choice of salsa on a corn tortilla is so good.”

Allen said she heard her co-workers raving about Zilantros, but she could not believe how good their tacos were until she tried them. 

Alvarez said he and his wife are thankful for everyone in the community who supported them. 

“It’s our dream come true,” Alvarez said.