By Ebony L. Morman

While Ricky Ortiz officially launched his Tacos Rick-O food truck in 2015, the business actually got its start on the sidewalk when he was 16 years old. 

“I always tried to find a way to make extra money,” he says. “One of the ways we did that was that we sold food in Mexico, to neighbors and people around that we knew, and then when we came to the United States, we started doing that here, as well.” 

Ortiz came to America with his family as a kid more than 20 years ago. He recalls preparing food with his mom, selling and delivering plates to the customers who visited the hair salon where she worked. 

“Then I started my own thing, and started selling outside of my house just to people that go by,” he says. “I had just a small little grill and people started to notice I sold food and they told their friends who told their friends. That’s how Tacos Rick-O started: in a tent.”

Tacos, gorditas, and Mexican soups were all on Ortiz’s rotating menu. His goal was to save up enough money to take his food from a tent to a food truck. ​​He dropped out of Johnson & Wales University in 2014, deciding to invest in business instead of education. It was cheaper for him to open the food truck than it was to pursue culinary school. 

Ortiz’s goal is to serve upscale dishes that are elevated in both preparation and presentation, he says. Inspired by multiple countries in Latin America, Taco’s Rick-O’s menu includes street tacos, quesadillas, birria, rice bowls, and wings. The flavor profiles of these dishes, as well as the preparation, are what makes them stand out, Ortiz says. He prefers to experiment with sweet and savory, incorporating the two flavors into sauces, which is the foundation of most items on the menu, whether it’s a sauce for a taco, wings, or the sauce for birria. 

“Our birria is very different from everybody else,” he says. “In Mexico, where I’m from, we make consommé [a clear broth] with chickpeas. You probably won’t get chickpeas in consommé in any other restaurant here in Charlotte, but if you go to Mexico, you will. That kind of sets us apart, too.” 

Another distinctive menu item is a recent addition. The creation of the hot Cheeto birria ball is an example of Ortiz’s commitment to keep customers coming back by developing interesting recipes. It’s birria meat with mozzarella cheese, onion, and cilantro. Ortiz uses rice to meld together the ingredients, creating a ball that’s rolled in hot Cheetos, which mimic a panko crust. Then, the balls are deep fried. It’s the same flavor profile as a birria taco, just presented differently. 

In order to thrive in the industry, Ortiz prioritizes building relationships with his clients, which includes knowing what they like to eat and where they like to live, work, and play.

“We found very good spots where we know people are going to find us, or that we’re going to get a lot of foot traffic,” he says. “And we brought a very good concept that people love, and they keep coming back. So we make sure that every customer leaves happy so that they come back.” 

Having insight about the people he serves helps Ortiz overcome some of the obstacles that befall food truck owners. Owning and operating a food truck is not easy, he says. And Ortiz is witnessing, just as he did in those early days of starting his own food truck, the evolution of Charlotte’s food truck scene daily. Trucks that started when he did either closed up shop permanently and sold their trucks or transitioned into a brick-and-mortar location. These days, food trucks are popping up throughout Charlotte more often. 

“A lot of people come into this business thinking it’s gonna be easy, but they realize you have to run a restaurant on wheels,” Ortiz says. “Everything breaks down all the time and when your truck breaks down, your whole business is down. A lot of people cannot keep up with that. So the ones that are still standing are the most successful ones.” 

Next year, it’ll be 10 years since Ortiz opened the food truck. That food truck experience, combined with what he learned from those early days of selling plates on the streets and from working in restaurants, helped him be successful in business because he can now foresee obstacles and troubleshoot accordingly. And Ortiz recently opened one brick-and-mortar concept, a churro bar, with a restaurant with a full bar on the way. 

RiCkO’s Churro Bar brings churros, pastries, ice cream, and coffee to NoDa, across from the YMCA. At Papi Rick-O’s, guests will be able to experience elevated Mexican food, essentially an extension of what Ortiz offers on the truck, as well as drinks, such as margaritas and frozen daiquiris. It’s expected to open in Plaza Midwood in October in the space that formerly housed The Warmack and Pint Central. 

“I want to get my brand out there,” he says. “I want everybody in Charlotte to know who Rick-O is and be proud of the concepts that I’m bringing to Charlotte because I’m going to try to bring something different every single time.”