The Territorial Business of Tacos

Los Angeles is one of the most competitive markets in the world as home to over 7,500 restaurants and 4,000 street vendors. When measured by volume, the city is second only to NYC. But of the many concepts and cuisines within the LA restaurant scene, Mexican is the most competitive. On every corner, in every neighborhood - you’ll see a taqueria or a truck or a stand.

The LA taco scene is unlike any market in the world where despite the saturation and overwhelming supply - the competition is always increasing, demand never wanes, and concentration of alternatives means that no business can really corner the market. The only way to compete is through innovation or territory.

In this Modern MBA exclusive, we’re going on the ground to see this market from the perspective of 3 owners who have each carved out their own niche with 3 different strategies. One is a humble family man who serves his neighborhood, one is a serial businessman looking to upset the status quo, and one is a 2-sister team whose ambition have fueled their 17-year-long territorial conquest from one stand to one of LA’s biggest taco empires.

0:00 Peak Saturation
4:05 Neighborhood Icon
13:29 Fusion Perfectionism
26:13 Ruthless Empire

This YouTube video was conducted on behalf of Above Food Ingredients Inc (NASDAQ: ABVE) and was funded by Outside The Box Capital Inc. and/or affiliates after Modern MBA was engaged by Outside The Box Capital Inc. to advertise for Above Food Ingredients Inc (NASDAQ: ABVE).

For our full disclaimer, please visit:

[ModernMBA]

0:00 Peak Saturation
4:05 Neighborhood Icon
13:29 Fusion Perfectionism
26:13 Ruthless Empire

[Sir.Black.]

These documentaries are one of the few videos I can't belive they are free to watch here on YT... Man, you're killing it, keep up the good work!

[SiiimpX]

Those vids where you go to the different businesses themselves and explain what sets them apart while explaining what the others (in general) do are Insanely good

Keep up the work man 🙏🏾

[DesperateAbroad]

I'm really liking these "in the field" type of videos. You're great at putting the actions of individual businesses into perspective.

[AliAllah-xbdp]

I definitely think this is such thoughtful content. I can really feel the respect you have for these communities, whereas sometimes people treat them almost like tourist attractions or that the owners are uneducated because they mainly speak Spanish. They are competent business people who have a finger on the pulse of their markets and actually getting interviews from them rather than just from academic work done on them is so important.

[dunnowy]

Dude, these videos are really, really interesting. I like how they're not just promotion for these businesses, but actual analyses of what works about them, and what doesn't. It really puts a human face to business.

[BusinessDymystified]

It's only on modern MBA where you get to learn the tacos business also involves turf wars like the drug business.

These videos are extremely good.

[SinlowMusic]

I moved from Texas to SoCal 2 years ago, and besides the awesome beaches/nightlife, these food trucks are the next best thing, man. They are an essential backbone of the economy and life here.

[dantivo]

Man these documentaries are absolutely top tier, I love this humane approach to business, reminds me a lot of my social anthropology classes in school. This is the first time I donate to a channel and I plan on donating more in the future. Great job and keep it up!

[alyssapark]

“Boots on the ground research” AKA we used this as an excuse to eat a lot of tacos

[GyroCannon]

In business and econ classes, you learn about business strategy and competitive advantage, and restaurants are the main industry given as an example of perfect competition - they're in a ruthless race to 0 economic profit.
Yet we see restaurants survive and thrive, so there's definitely still a secret sauce to success.
Very happy to see this video. Amazing work as always!

[judichristopher]

EXCELLENT VIDEO
I have been cooking for over 52 years and have had my own cafe and roadside stands... and I learned a lot by watching this video...
Thank YOU so much for sharing this.... I need to get up to the 21st Century.

[mattirwin]

The fusion place really reminded me of a butcher shop and grill I used to work at in the valley (in LA), also Armenian owned. Pretty much identical business structures (fusion butcher shop + grill) with the exact same type of owner. One thing I gotta give those Armenians is that they know how to run a hell of a business. that said, the owner was a really difficult person to work for. He was constantly monitoring everything in a very uptight manner, trying to find ways to catch us doing something wrong, testing our loyalty and he would dig in to us in the most verbally caustic ways in the rare event we did slip up. He was absolutely paranoid. I understand it. He probably had a lot of bad instances in his life and didn't want to lose the quality he had worked to maintain. after a year of going through the ringer with his antics and being offered a management position in one of his growing franchises, i left because the dude was an absolute nightmare to work for. keep in mind i was working 7 hour shifts without breaks literally every single shift i worked because buddy had no respect for his workers or labor standards. these guys spending thousands on their own food every month goes beyond the quality of the food. a good boss finds the balance between excess and deficiency, and if they're anything like my old boss, they probably break the scale of the former. that kind of management results in low employee retention because no one wants to work for a basketcase who looks over your shoulder every five seconds unless they're getting paid enough to deal with that, and 16 an hour doesn't include the emotional scars of a crazy boss. in case they scan through these comments sections like my old boss would've - keep the work ethic that got you to 2 million a year, loosen up, make the work environment positive and as stress-free as possible and don't look for reasons to fire someone. make work a place that people want to show up to. the only reason i worked that job for a year was because i was a senior in high school, it was covid, and no one was hiring. thanks.

[fangirlfortheages]

15:00 sumac is NOT dried pomegranates it’s a flowering plant related to cashews
(I’m allergic to nuts and also sumac but definitely not pomegranates. So when I heard him say that I googled it just to make sure and yup that’s so incorrect)

[Iconoclasher]

That's crazy! How can you "price gouge" a taco? (22:40) You either buy it or you don't. "Price gouging" is when you NEED life saving medicine and the drug company says, "that'll be $1000 please".

[emikogarcia]

I am from the Philippines who dreams of going to Mexico and eat a whole bunch of different tacos. Also love all these videos! ❤ You are awesome

[Aninefivesiix]

Your videos remind me of some VICE documentary’s in a really good way, this is your best video yet imo

[benw]

Superb documentary. Telling people's stories is always a winner. I'd love to see you turn this into a series.

[RoachInMyCake]

This channel has quickly become one of my favorites. Love your content and the hard work you put in!

[chaseism]

Can I just say, phenomenal job. I echo others when I say, I enjoy these videos where you allow business owners to speak for themselves while giving us a greater context. This was absolutely fascinating and just like your video on Nightclubs, I was surprised at just how into it I was.