Legendary Fresno taco shop gets business honor. ‘Grit, determination and inspiration’
This story is part of the Central Valley News Collaborative — a bilingual, community journalism project funded by the Central Valley Community Foundation and with technology and training support from Microsoft Corp. The collaboration includes The Fresno Bee, Valley Public Radio, Vida en el Valle, Radio Bilingüe and the Institute for Media & Public Trust at Fresno State.
Belen Melendrez Ramirez moved to California in 1989 from the city of Notchistlán in the Mexican state of Zacatecas. In 1996, she opened a small food trailer, called El Premio Mayor, outside the apartment she shared with her young children in Fresno.
“We connected an extension cord inside and brought it out, crossing the street, to power the trailer,” she said in Spanish with a giggle.
Since then, Melendrez Ramirez has grown the business to include two restaurants and two food trucks known throughout the city for their flavorful tacos and tortas. After 26 years in business, El Premio Mayor has received the 2022 Small Business of the Year award for District 31 from Assemblymember Dr. Joaquin Arambula.
The award, granted by the California legislature, celebrates small businesses across assembly districts “because they are the backbone of the state’s economy,” Arambula’s office said via email.
El Premio Mayor means the grand or first place prize in Spanish. Arambula said it is a top Fresno eatery not only because of its food but also because of its contributions to the community.
The family-run business has participated in fundraisers, handed out warm burritos to people in need during the winter, volunteered to feed firefighters during the Creek Fire in 2020 and donated lunches to frontline workers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Arambula said.
Fresno business began as a taco trailer
As the taco trailer gained loyal customers, Melendrez Ramirez looked for a better place to sell her food. She talked to the owner of a car wash on McKinley and Mayfair avenues, and he gave her permission to sell in front of his business.
Melendrez Ramirez and her three children got to work. Bianca Loza, Melendrez Ramirez’s daughter, did her homework while taking orders, as her brother, Adrian, grilled with her mom and her sister, Noemi, chopped vegetables.
The car wash had a coffee shop where clients could wait until their cars were ready. Loza recalled telling her mother to imagine what it would be like to move their business from their trailer to that shop.
“It seemed like such an impossible dream, to get that little taco shop,” Loza said.
But they did. By the end of 2009, El Premio Mayor opened its first brick-and-mortar restaurant and has remained next to the car wash ever since.
They expanded their operations into a second shop on North Maroa Avenue in 2012. After establishing both restaurants, they purchased two food trucks. The family has retired their original trailer to comply with health protocols, but keep it as memorabilia.
Melendrez Ramirez’s son, Adrian, was determined to gain recognition for his family’s food. He enrolled their business in Fresno’s Second Annual Taco Truck Throwdown and El Premio Mayor won the People’s Choice and Judges’ Choice awards.
He died in 2016, and El Premio Mayor has won more awards since then. Adrian’s image became part of the commemorative logo that now represents the business. Today, Noemi and Bianca Loza manage the family restaurants.
On a recent afternoon, the aroma of raw and cooked onions — accompanied by whiffs of tortillas warming up in a light coating of oil — filled the taco shop on McKinley Avenue. Rancheras and ballads in Spanish played as the cook behind the hot grill continued to dispatch orders to go.
Different from other street-style tacos, El Premio Mayor serves theirs with cabbage along with the regular fixings — diced raw onions, cilantro, salsa and lime slices on the side — giving its tacos a satisfying, fresh crunch.
“In Mexico, tacos are served with onion and cilantro, but I saw here that people used cabbage,” Melendrez Ramirez said. “But I don’t remember where I got that from!”
Melendrez Ramirez said she would not have accomplished what she has without the help from her family.
“Today, it is beautiful to me to remember how I started,” she said. “I feel very proud and grateful to God and my kids.”
Fresno taco shop earns business award
Melendrez Ramirez and her family met with Arambula in Sacramento on Aug. 17, to receive their award.
“Belen’s story is one of grit, determination and inspiration,” Arambula said in an emailed statement. With the help of her family, El Premio Mayor represents what can be achieved with “hard work, talent, and ingenuity,” he said.
Their day in Sacramento came exactly 26 years after Melendrez Ramirez first opened El Premio Mayor, Loza said on Facebook.
“The fact that the ceremony landed on the very same day as our 26-year anniversary makes me smile and know that my brother is up above looking over us,” Loza said.
“Mi mamá es un gran orgullo hispano,” she wrote. My mom is an example of great Hispanic pride.
Melendrez Ramirez extended her gratitude to her loyal clientele, her regulars and those who try El Premio Mayor for the first time.
“From the bottom of my heart, thank you,” she said. “Without you, I wouldn’t be here today.”
This story was originally published August 22, 2022 at 5:00 AM.