Area Tortilla Maker Sees Business Boom in Past 6 Weeks

Tortilleria Chihuahua tortillas have been flying off the shelves of local grocery stores in recent weeks.

A part of that has to do with the quality of the product -- local residents say the all-natural flour-made tortillas are delicious. But maybe even a bigger reason behind why business is booming has to do with the fun, live videos posted by tortilla maker Ricky Lopez, which he shares regularly on the What’s Happening in Elgin IL Facebook page, a page that has over 20,000 followers, and now on his Tortilleria Chihuahua Facebook page, which he just started on Tuesday and already has 2,100 followers.

“That’s why people buy my tortillas. Because of all the videos I make,” said Lopez in a recent live video.

Lopez is hard not to like. He has an infectious personality and talks openly about his life, his business and the process of making, and selling, his tortillas in his videos. He’s also hard to miss. He has tattoos on his face, including the word “faith” on his temple and the names of his children on his cheekbones, the Daily Herald reports.

Lopez re-booted his tortilla business just six weeks ago. Lopez sold his tortillas from 2006 to 2013 but closed after his plans to move his business fell through, according to the Daily Herald. He went back to working construction from that point until about two months ago.

“I was driving a truck and I said to myself, ‘What am I doing here? I know what I can do. I know what I’m worth.’” Lopez told the Daily Herald.

So, he quit construction, found an investor and started making his tortillas again.

He’s been working out of Shared Dream Kitchen in Elgin. When he started just six weeks ago, he was making about 600 tortillas every two days, and now, with the help of four employees, he’s making about 6,000 tortillas a day, the Daily Herald reports.

Lopez said demand is very high right now. His videos get thousands of views and show him traveling to area grocery stores to re-stock as his tortillas continue to sell out. They also show him working with local grocery store owners to secure more partnerships. He said some restaurants have also expressed an interest in buying his tortillas.

“It’s all called a blessing … and I’m taking the blessings and I’m counting them, believe me,” Lopez said in a video Wednesday. “I’ve done a lot things in my life good and bad. But when you do good, good comes back to you. And I’ve been doing a lot of good, so, that’s why I think good things are happening to me.”

He also said he plans to travel soon to look at buying new equipment to make more tortillas.

“I wasn’t expecting to grow so quick, so fast,” Lopez said. “I thank the Lord everyday for everything.”

In most of his videos lately, he thanks buyers for choosing his tortillas.

“When I become a millionaire, I’ll buy everyone a drink or something,” Lopez said in his Wednesday video.

More via the Daily Herald and the Tortilleria Chihuahua Facebook page

Photo credit: Tortilleria Chihuahua Facebook page