TortaMóvil brings classic DF-style tortas to South Central LA

In 1989, at just 20 years old, Alfredo Moran chose to leave behind his dreams of becoming a mechanical engineer and everything he knew in Mexico City to start a new life in the United States, more specifically in the city of South Central L.A., to start his own TortaMóvil business.

“At that time, it was very common to hear people say that if you lived on the other side and worked, it was easy to live well. Yes, you lived more or less well, but what that meant was that you had to work,” said Moran.

After working two jobs at different manufacturing companies, Moran found the workload overwhelming and decided to quit. Although the field wasn't the right fit for him, something beautiful came from the experience—he met his wife, Maria Pereza. After Moran left his jobs, he then decided that it was better for him to start his own family business in 1996 called TortaMóvil.

Moran said that out of all the businesses, he chose to go into the food industry because of his own financial struggle with food in his childhood. “Es que yo, de chavo en la Ciudad de México, era muy difícil comer porque era hijo único y mi mamá trabajaba en la costura. Entonces no era muy accesible comerlo. Entonces siempre mi comida favorita allá en la Ciudad de México eran las tortas,” said Moran.

Moran and his wife's dating life became far from typical. Instead of going out on traditional dates, he would take her along to sell his famous tortas. And no, they didn’t become famous overnight through social media. Back then, Moran had to find ways to get free publicity and he did it through a radio station in Los Angeles.

“Los del DF se caracterizan por ser muy bailadores. Entonces había una estación de radio que se dedicaba a darle un espacio a la música sonidera. Yo hablé una vez y conocí al conductor y el conductor vino aquí y ya de ahí me dio publicidad a una de las tortas más famosas aquí que es la Sonidera por la de esa persona,” Moran said. And that was just the beginning of his first menu item. 

In the early days, the couple sold many of their tortas outside clubs, averaging about 10 to 20 a day. As time passed, their business began to thrive, and they were able to save enough money to upgrade from a wooden food cart to owning a mini-food truck.

Today, TortaMóvil offers 15 different tortas, from Cubana to Chilanga, which are the local favorites at their seven by 10-foot’ stand on the corner of San Pedro and 27th Streets.The bright orange and yellow colors from their business stand out as soon as you approach them. From Friday through Sunday, you can find Moran, his wife and his two sons working hard, taking on roles from cashiers to cooks to even social media content creators.

Luis Moran, the eldest son of Moran, has been working at the family business since he was 12 years old. Over the years, Luis has not only mastered the ins and outs of TortaMóvil but he has also built close relationships with community members who have become friends and colleagues. Luis believes that the reason that his parents decided to immigrate and start their own business was not only to provide for themselves but also for their parents as well. “I definitely think that's the kind of drive that fueled them,” he said.

He also shared that the reason why TortaMóvil is so special to the community is because they have some of the best tortas in L.A. due to the quality and the love that goes into it. “A lot of the ingredients are handmade and locally sourced, so I think that the love that we put into it definitely translates when people are eating it,” Luis said. 

One of his favorite mom's dishes is even included on the TortaMóvil menu, which is la Torta de pollo. “My mom used to make this when I was growing up, and funny enough, one day she was like, ‘You know what, let's just put it on the menu,’” he said.

Beyond the food, Luis has witnessed generations of families growing up together over the years, with the business playing a key role in bringing the community closer. “You often hear folks come and be like, ‘I remember when my dad used to bring me,’ you know, and now they have kids, so now they're bringing their five year old with them,” Luis said.

Another reason why TortaMóvil stands out from other tortas businesses is because of their deep involvement with the community of South Central, from sponsoring soccer teams to working along with the U.S. Census. “I recall learning about it and understanding its importance and the direct impact that it had on the community. So using the platform, using the business, we started educating our customers while they were here and through our social media channels and we're doing similar work now with the ICE immigration raids,” Luis said. “We're looking at ways to be innovative and just be like we understand that we don't have any social responsibility, but at the end of the day we serve our community and our community currently needs our help during these times. I think it’s nice to be able to have that trust within the community, to be able to share resources and always find ways to stay connected and give back.”

When Luis is not working at TortaMóvil, you can catch him working at a nonprofit organization called Inclusive Action for the City, where a lot of his work involves working with small businesses. “Using some of the lived experience that I've learned here at the truck, I do that now at my job by providing those resources back to the small businesses in the community,” Luis said.

Moran shared with CALÓ News that some of the toughest challenges his business has faced have been through the ups and downs of the economy. Moran said that just this year since President Donald Trump took office, he has already seen an increase in food prices, and in order for his business to keep thriving, he has to sell and serve the best quality tortas. “Sometimes you go to a food place and people try to sell you the same thing as other people. But quality doesn't matter. So sometimes to maintain quality, it costs money,” he said.

In the small corner of the parking lot at Mexicali Meat Market & Liquor, TortaMóvil can always be found, cooking up a variety of tortas for both local regulars and new customers, many of whom often return.

Miriam Moral, a resident of Inglewood, discovered TortaMóvil a couple of years ago and fell in love with their Torta Cubana. Recently, she found them again through social media and decided to pay a visit. “I came back because I really liked it, and when I saw them, I thought, ‘Yeah, that's them,’” she said. The torta Cubana includes ham, pork cheese, chorizo, carnitas and breaded steak.

38-year-old Omar Acevedo has been coming to TortaMóvil in the last 15 years. Acevedo said that the reason he always comes back is because of the good quality of the food. “There's not just anything that's put together. Everything has good taste and it’s good quality,” he said. One of Acevedo’s favorite menu items is the Asada Torta, which includes carne de asada, chile morrón, hongos y cebolla a la plancha.

Moran said that if other Latino entrepreneurs want to start a business like his, there's always going to be room for opportunities. “Como decían en la escuela lo importante es informarte y buscar ayuda. Hay muchas organizaciones y mucha gente que te puede ayudar, así como mi hijo, Luis, o otras personas. El chiste es perder el miedo,” Moran said. “Lo importante es seguir las reglas en este país y si siguen las reglas de aquí, tienes muchas oportunidades para salir adelante.”