Local food truck El Veneno recently transitioned to a food stall at Monarch Market, and it has more plans in the works for the future.
El Veneno serves Mexican cuisine, with an emphasis on tacos. Charlotte native Kimmy Bazan owns the business. She told What Now Charlotte the food stall is a first step away from the rigorous lifestyle of a food truck and a chance to expand the brand and menu. For example, they will be making their tortillas in house now at the food stall.
However, Bazan’s ultimate goal is to open an independent brick-and-mortar location in Charlotte outside of a food hall. Though she does not have a location chosen yet, she hopes to have a spot open or in the works in the next year and a half.
“I’m the owner of El Veneno’s stall, but everything I do has to go through other people and the owners of that building. El Veneno, to me, embodies being different and being able to do what you want,” Bazan said. “And we can’t do that at the food hall as much as we want to, so I want to have a brick-and-mortar eventually where we can just be ourselves.”
Her goal is to make it a space dedicated to Mexican culture, specifically showcasing the diversity within Mexican cuisine — something she believes will fill a gap in the Charlotte food scene.
“In a future brick-and-mortar, I would love to explore more of that [diversity] instead of doing just grab-and-go,” Bazan said. “I would love the brick-and-mortar to be a place where you sit down, dine and get the experience of Mexican food and its different regions and understand the importance of every meal that you’re eating in terms of culture.”
