Pleasanton Winery Brings Ousted Taco Truck Onto Property Following Community Backlash

PLEASANTON, CA — A popular Pleasanton taco truck owner recently forced to move to a new location following a complaint lodged by Casa Real at Ruby Hill Winery will be allowed to sell her tacos on the winery land. The change of heart comes in the wake of community outrage as news of the tacos truck’s unwelcome move spread throughout Tri-Valley over the past two weeks.

San Jose resident Nelly Ramirez, who has been selling tacos from her food truck parked near the intersection of Isabel and Vineyard avenues in Pleasanton for more than 18 years, was recently told she had to relocate Nelly’s Kitchen La Cocina truck to a new location across the street.

Ramirez says her business has taken a dramatic hit in sales since she was ousted from her original location. Ramirez believed the lack of parking in the small turn-out on Alameda County-owned property was deterring her usual customers from stopping by the truck.

Representatives of the Casa Real at Ruby Hill Winery said they spoke to Ramirez with the assistance of a translator on Monday. The winery released a statement Tuesday night about the new agreement between Ruby Hill and Ramirez.

“As a result, we have offered her a new location on our private property close to where she previously operated," the winery said. "We feel this new location will solve some of the congestion issues. In exchange, Ms. Ramirez has generously agreed to relocate on the infrequent days when we need to utilize the space for overflow parking when we have large events.

“These understandings are being put forth in a memorandum and we hope that this solution will allow both of our businesses to thrive into the future. We thank all of the public who was concerned about the situation and took the time to provide us with criticism. As hard as it was to hear, we have always been an open organization who actively solicits feedback to better improve ourselves and the services to our clients.”

Years before the Casa Real event center opened, Ramirez said her truck was parked, with the city’s permission, on the shoulder of the city-owned property located near the Casa Real entrance. The two businesses existed near each other for years.

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In May, Ramirez, who speaks only Spanish, received a letter in English from a lawyer representing the Ruby Hill Winery and Casa Real advising her that the customers patronizing her business were parking in the Casa Real lot, trespassing, causing a “private nuisance” and unsafe conditions on their property. Eventually, a complaint was lodged regarding the taco truck, and over the course of a few site visits, Mark Dennis, the city’s code enforcement officer, determined there were some code violations and some issues related to safety and requested the owner relocate.

Since the move, East Bay residents have posted hundreds of comments on several local Facebook pages vowing to visit the taco truck as often as possible in support of Ramirez, while others expressed their dismay with Casa Real and Ruby Hill via the comment section on the Casa Real Facebook page.

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• Popular Pleasanton Taco Truck Forced To Move Sees Major Decline In Business

Photo courtesy Autumn Johnson/ Patch