Business Monday: Pancho’s Tacos brings the taste of Mexico to Hawaiʻi Island

A bright red Pancho’s Tacos is easy to spot if you’re driving in Pāhoa, Keaʻau and Hilo from Tuesday through Friday. If you look closer, you’ll see a family business running like clockwork on the inside.

Pancho and Jessie Aguilar never planned to open a food truck, but since 2017 they have owned and operate the thriving business.

“My husband is from Acámbaro, Guanajuato, Mexico, and we visited one year and brought back a comal (flat, round griddle), which inspired him to make tacos at parties,” Jessie said. “Everyone liked them, so they encouraged us to sell them at Makuʻu Farmers Market, but we decided to do a smaller market in Nānāwale.”

After selling in small markets for a while, their reach expanded as they continued to sell more each week. The former owner of Pancho’s Tacos took notice and asked the family if they wanted to buy his food truck.

“We were unsure, because we were just doing this as a family with our seven kids,” Jessie Aguilar said. “We thought and thought about it and decided to just go for it. This all started so Dad could have a hobby under a small tent, but since then, we’ve been able to grow and were able to upgrade to this red truck in 2022.”

In the first full year of business, they served food to 2018 lava flow evacuees throughout Puna.

Over the years, Jessie Aguilar was able to quit her job as an elementary teacher, and Pancho quit working in construction, turning Pancho’s into a full-time family business.

With help from their oldest children, the Aguilars make Mexican street food inspired by Pancho’s hometown. The family’s main dish is tacos, but the menu also includes sincronizadas, flautas, mulitas and burritos.

The Aguilars maintain a regular schedule throughout the week, serving communities across East Hawaiʻi.

Pancho’s can be found at Old Akebono Theater, 15-2942 Pāhoa Village Road, in Pāhoa from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Tuesday, and then they move to Keaʻau near the post office, 16-578 Old Volcano Road, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday.

Pancho’s then parks in Hilo from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Ben Franklin Crafts parking lot on Thursday and at the Kai Store, 2010 Kīlauea Avenue, on Friday.

While they sometimes cater for friends’ events or other gatherings, the Aguilars usually take weekends off to attend their children’s soccer games and spend time together.

“Everybody keeps asking if we would open a brick-and-mortar store, but we still have young kids at home and we like to work around their schedules,” Jamie Aguilar said.

“And we’re lucky to be able to employ our older kids in the food truck and work with them every day,” Pancho Aguilar said. “I never thought I’d have a chance to do something like this.”

Running a popular food truck has helped bring the Aguilars out of their shells, having once been apprehensive about working in public almost daily.

“Another reason we weren’t sure about the food truck was because we are both shy, but being able to interact with people is nice,” Pancho Aguilar said. “We get recognized when we are out, which the kids hate, but we’ve come to enjoy it.”

The Aguilars plan to continue their venture as a food truck and serve East Hawaiʻi authentic, delicious Mexican food.

“It’s surreal that I get to do this and that we would become as big as we have over the years,” Pancho Aguilar said. “The fact that the community loves my food is crazy to me, but having that support means the world.”