Trompo in Oak Cliff Could Be the First Dallas Restaurant Closure of 2024 | Eater Dallas

"I read that Trompo taqueria is facing imminent closure after owner Luis Olvera was locked out on January 3 for failure to pay rent, and D Magazine reported it as the first closure of the year on January 5. Olvera posted a video on January 7 saying, “I owe my landlords $30,000,” and told Eater Dallas that the amount represents six months of back rent; he also warned that “if we do not raise $36,000 over the next few days, the taqueria closes.” A few investors reportedly offered money in exchange for ownership stakes with revenue conditions he calls “unsustainable for my family,” so instead he launched a GoFundMe that had raised $4,875 (around 10 percent of what Trompo needs) at press time. Trompo began as Olvera’s backyard operation and grew to five locations, earned a spot on Bon Appetit’s 2016 best tacos list, and later won a D Magazine best-tacos accolade, but the newest location opened in late September 2022 has underperformed despite gaining a license to sell alcohol; Olvera says sales never reached even 60–70 percent of what he’d seen before. After a period of denial in early 2023 he made cuts to spending and vendors and let staff go in October 2023 (giving them a month to find other jobs), exhausted his savings and lines of credit, and saw November 2023 become his lowest-sales week of the year; he blames himself for not making changes sooner. He also cites digital confusion with GPS and online ordering hurting traffic, and says the outpouring of messages and support from loyal customers has put joy in his heart even as he contemplates leaving the food industry if the campaign fails." - Courtney E. Smith