Tacos and Burgers Gonzalez specializes in both in Exeter

By DAMIAN MARQUEZ
| Visalia Times-Delta

EXETER – Jesus Gonzalez has been in the food industry almost his entire life, and his wife and children have helped him every step of the way.

So when a location near downtown Exeter became available, Gonzalez felt it was the perfect time to open his first dine-in restaurant. Tacos and Burgers Gonzalez recently had its grand opening and the reception to the Michoacan and Nayarit-inspired food has been positive.

“I wanted to open this restaurant to provide great service and fresh food to this community,” Gonzalez said in Spanish. “My wife is a great cook and her food is wonderfully seasoned. Whatever kind of food, she knows how to make it. She makes menudo, birria, shrimp cocktail and ceviche. There’s plenty more on the menu, including burgers, but Gonzalez said it’s fair to say his restaurant prides itself on selling Michoacan grass-inspired dishes like menudo and birria. and Nayarit’s surf-inspired dishes like shrimp cocktail, ceviche and aguachile.

“We’ve sold food all our lives,” Gonzalez said. “Food has always helped our family and people like to eat what we sell.”

Gonzalez said the food he has sold the most since immigrating to the United States is tamales. He said he regularly sold 80 dozen tamales on a given day and up to 230 dozen tamales on Saturdays. When the holidays arrive, he expects to bring those tasty tamales made with pork, chicken, cheese and chili verde to Exeter.

Gonzalez first immigrated to the United States in 1992. He lived for several years in Exeter, where his children attended elementary school. He also lived in Woodlake, Visalia and now lives in Ivanhoe. After living in the United States for thirteen years, Gonzalez and his family moved back to Mexico in 2005. Just two years later, the Gonzalezes were back in the United States, ready to sell their Mexican cuisine.

In the short time that Tacos and Burgers Gonzalez has been open, business has been good. Jesus’ son Jose Gonzalez said he remembers growing up down the street from the restaurant’s location, near Faith Tabernacle Apostolic Church in Exeter. Many of the people he grew up with are still there and have supported him and visited the company.

“When my parents came back here, a lot of people knew them,” Jose said. “They have shown up and been supportive. It was really fun.”

Foodservice is a family business. The Gonzalez family owns a catering company, they deliver food and they have ice cream trucks that drive around Woodlake, Ivanhoe and Visalia. Jose owns two of those food trucks that sell Blue Bunny Ice Cream. Jose also recently opened a food truck called Joe’s FrappCakes, which specializes in selling mini pancakes, crepes, frappuccinos and lemonade.

Jose tried to take his career in a different direction, but realized he was born to serve food.

“I wanted to be a normal person and get a job, but that wasn’t for me,” he said. “I was struggling, living in low-income apartments, and I went back to what my father showed me. “I knew how to cook. I went back to what my parents showed me and that’s what I did.

The inspiration for Joes’ FrappCakes can be attributed to Jose’s wife.

“My wife likes to spend a lot of money on things like that,” Jose said. “I thought, I can make and sell this stuff on the weekend. “They always want the fraps, pancakes and I said, ‘You know what, I can do this’ and that’s how it started.”

Joe’s FrappCakes can be found around Woodlake, Visalia and Ivanhoe. He also does events and is available for catering.

Jesus Gonzalez has four sons and three daughters and the family continues to grow with grandchildren. He said he was proud of all his children, who are still involved in the food industry.

And when people come to Tacos and Burgers Gonzalez, they can expect a family atmosphere with good service and delicious food.

“This is what I tell people. ‘You come into a very clean restaurant with really good food that is freshly prepared,’” Jesus said. “For us, we pride ourselves on cleanliness and freshly prepared food that is delicious.”

Information

Tacos and Burgers Gonzalez is located at 141 S. Filbert St. in Exeter. To-go orders are available by calling (559) 946-4540 or (559) 798-4623. Joe’s FrappCakes is available for bookings. Call (559) 786-3369 for information.

Information

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