El Pipila opens in The Hall on Market
After a soft-opening last week and grand opening celebration yesterday, which included Aztec dancers, today marks the official debut of El Pípila at Mid-Market temporary food and drink venue, The Hall.
For owner Guadalupe Guerrero, a member of La Cocina’s kitchen incubator program, whose homey take on Guanajuatan-inspired Mexican food has found a following in the Bay Area over the past few years, the festivities mark the culmination of many years of hard work.
In 1998, Guerrero emigrated to the Bay Area from Acambaro, Guanajuato in Mexico — leaving her two young daughters behind. She found work in a Berkeley taqueria, where she worked long 12 to 14 hour shifts, six days a week. While saving up enough money after two years to bring her daughters to the United States, Guerrero continued to work at the taqueria in order to provide for her family, and eventually began taking business planning classes through ALAS, a Spanish language business program through Women’s Initiative. With the encouragement of friend and fellow La Cocina participant Alicia Villanueva (Alicia’s Tamales Los Mayas), Guerrero joined the incubator program in 2012.
In her time with La Cocina, sh has established a catering business (clients include Zendesk) and she’s also become a fixture at events like La Cocina’s annual San Francisco Street Food Festival, Carnaval and Off the Grid.
When Scott Peterson and Ted Wilson, the team behind The Hall, reached out to La Cocina about featuring one of their vendors, El Pípila seemed like a perfect fit. While Guerrero’s year-long residence at The Hall is a temporary one, it brings her one step closer to opening a permanent restaurant of her own. According to Guerrero and La Cocina’s Michelle Fernández, they are currently working together to secure a permanent space in SoMa for sometime in 2016.
For now, Guerrero — along with her now grown daughters, Brenda and Alejandra, who help their mother with operations — will focus on growing El Pípila as a business. The family business certainly seems to be off to positive start — Guerrero just finished a successful crowd-funded campaign for a $10,000 Kiva loan, which will help with operating expenses.
In addition to their kiosk at The Hall, Guerrero will also continue to cater and make her weekly appearances Friday nights at Off the Grid in Fort Mason.
For a peek at some of the dishes Guerrero will offer at The Hall, take a look at the slideshow above.
Random fun fact: Guerrero chose to name her company after a famous folk hero from the Mexican War of Independence who is considered the guardian of her hometown of Guanajuato. When Guerrero was trying to figure out her business name, she decided she wanted to be the “guardian of flavor,” the name El Pípila seemed fitting.
El Pípila (at The Hall), 1028 Market St., near Sixth Street, San Francisco. elpipila.com. 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. Monday-Friday; weekend hours will vary.
Previously: Where to eat the Mexican food of Guanajuato, Oaxaca and Yucatan [San Francisco Chronicle]