“I told him we’re going to get in there. I don’t know how. I don’t know when. I don’t know who is going to help us get in there. But I’m manifesting big things,” she says.
All big things start small. For Lola’s Tacos, it was with pop-ups, catering and a pandemic. Through it all, however, Olivares was learning how to operate the business on her own.
The taquero (someone who makes and sells tacos) is traditionally a male role. As a woman, Olivares was met with resistance from men in the industry who would dismiss her or give her wrong information. “I always wanted to own my business, but I didn’t know how. I didn’t have support,” she says.
Instead, she found inspiration in her family and an inner strength that brought the community she needed to her. With their wedding on hold from the pandemic, Flore asked the question needed to keep the dream alive. Did she want to do this? Her reply: Yes.
“I enjoy cooking and I love it! There is a passion about cooking for me because of my grandparents. I told him, ‘I want to do this,’ ” Olivares says.
So the big wedding was off, and the money went to a food truck and the needed permits. In 2021, Olivares entered her first taco competition and was the only female taquera in a field of men. Using recipes passed down from her grandparents, she came in first place.
The competition was a validation, but there were still challenges working in the post-pandemic world. And then, State Farm Stadium called. The taco competition win had put her on their radar, and they invited Lola’s Tacos to be a part of the food truck court during the football season.
It was her dream coming true.
During that first season, the stadium called on her for more than a food truck spot. Through her social media network, Olivares helped find more than 200 employees for the games. When it was over, she wasn’t shy to ask what was next. They offered her three concession stands inside the stadium.
“My jaw just dropped,” she says. “On top of that, there was going to be the Super Bowl! I was very professional, but inside, I was screaming.”
Lola’s Tacos debuted inside State Farm Stadium for the 2022-23 season with stands on the Club Level and fourth floor. The menu stayed simple with chicken and steak tacos, quesadillas and burritos with sides, salsa and agua frescas. And with the Super Bowl came attention she never imagined. Olivares was interviewed by international media and soon received messages from around the world.
“The immense amount of love that I received. I can’t even put into words,” she says, her voice cracking with emotion. “To be recognized as a Mexican-American ‘Taco Woman’ who didn’t go to culinary school, but learned her skills from her grandparents. To be recognized as a little bit of Mexico at the Super Bowl was when I felt on top. I made it.”
But what Olivares calls her “insane journey” isn’t over. This season, she has a fourth concession stand on the coveted first floor and she’s looking ahead to 2024 when Phoenix will host the NCAA Final Four games.
While she’d someday like to franchise, open a restaurant or even get the Big Red food truck back on the road, Olivares stays focused on managing the growth inside the stadium, keeping an employee culture like family and setting an example for her children. But there’s no doubt she’ll rise to her next challenge when it happens.
“I don’t do well if I’m too comfortable,” she says. “I need to do something else. I need to be challenged. This has been challenging!”
