New spot with authentic Mexican street food opens in SLO. ‘Everything is fresh’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Los Mexas opened in June 2025 inside a San Luis Obispo convenience store.
- The taqueria offers fresh, handmade Mexican street food with rotating specials.
- Owners aim to expand with a food truck to reach more SLO County customers.
A new San Luis Obispo taqueria is serving up authentic Mexican eats in a hidden location: the back of a local convenience store.
Pass by cases of cold drinks and aisles of bagged snacks at Sidewalk Market in San Luis Obispo, and you’ll come across Los Mexas.
The food counter at 1401 Osos St. is run by co-owners Paulina Salcedo, Miguel Fuentes and Sara Zuniga, who were all raised in Mexico.
Salcedo said the premise of Los Mexas, which opened June 2, is straightforward: cheap and tasty Mexican-style street food.
Here’s what to know:
New Mexican restaurant opens inside SLO convenience store
The idea for Los Mexas originated at a party, Salcedo said.
She and Fuentes were celebrating Zuniga’s birthday in June 2024 when the conversation turned to launching a business venture together.
While sipping beers, the three friends began to imagine a restaurant of their own.
Fuentes, who grew up in Mexico City, previously owned Los Morros BBQ at 897 Main St. and Morro Deli at 940 Morro Bay Blvd. in Morro Bay. After closing both businesses, he was ready to try a new venture.
Salcedo was born in San Luis Obispo but spent most of her childhood in Zacatecas in central Mexico, where it’s common to find affordable food on the side of the road, she told The Tribune.
She and her business partners wanted to bring those kinds of casual, budget-friendly Mexican meals to the Central Coast.
Several months after Zuniga’s birthday party, Salcedo was shopping at Sidewalk Market when she noticed the open space inside the convenience store.
The spot was previously home to Coya Peruvian Food, which moved to a brick-and-mortar space on Higuera Street in downtown San Luis Obispo earlier this year.
That, Salcedo and her partners decided, was the perfect place to launch Los Mexas.
Salcedo said business has been steady since Los Mexas opened two months ago, earning more than 20 five-star Google reviews as of Tuesday, July 29.
What’s on the menu at Los Mexas?
Los Mexas’ menu is a blend of home cooking and Mexican street food, the owners said.
Salcedo described Los Mexas as “definitely something new” that’s different from other Mexican restaurants in town.
She said the restaurant’s fried quesadilla and chilaquiles are authentic dishes from where she grew up in Zacatecas.
“We make handmade tortillas,” Salcedo said. “Everything is fresh.”
The eatery sells three types of tortillas in a rainbow of colors: classic yellow with corn, red with guajillo chili and green with spinach.
The menu is constantly in flux with new food specials each month, Salcedo said.
In July, Los Mexas offered a fried crab meat quesadilla and a chilaquiles torta filled with fried tortilla chips, meat, onions, sour cream and salsa.
Other menu offerings include a variety of tacos, burritos, nachos, gorditas, tortas and plates that comes with rice, beans, handmade tortillas and your choice of meat.
Los Mexas lets customers choose from more than a dozen meat, fish and vegetarian options.
Zuniga said her favorite thing on the menu is the torta cubana, which is stuffed with beef, ham and chorizo as well as eggs, cheese, beans, jalapeno, lettuce and tomato.
“It’s really good,” Zuniga said. “Really, really good.”
Is Mexican street food truck next for new eatery?
Salcedo said she eventually wants to expand the Los Mexas brand, possibly by launching a food truck.
“This type of food is from the streets,” so we would rather have a trailer than a fancy restaurant, Salcedo said.
When is Los Mexas open at Sidewalk Market?
Los Mexas is located inside of Sidwalk Market, 1401 Osos St. in San Luis Obispo.
It’s open from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.
This story was originally published July 30, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "New spot with authentic Mexican street food opens in SLO. ‘Everything is fresh’."
