The lively El Cartel food truck was a staple on Vancouver streets and at events across the Lower Mainland for several years, but ahead of the pandemic, the bright blue mobile eatery put things in park to focus on catering.
This fall, after several successful years of growing the El Cartel brand's catering program, the business has reappeared in another new form: A permanent restaurant space.
El Cartel got off the ground in the AMS Student Nest building on the University of British Columbia (UBC) campus right before the school year got underway.
The lower-level space, which El Cartel's owners chose due to its coincidental exterior that looks much like the side of a food truck, has already proven to be a beacon to students and others on campus, thanks in no small part to the vibrant Mexican-inspired art on the exterior and the music playing from a speaker facing the communal seating area.
The truck started in 2015 as a first-time food biz venture built on the concept of fusion L.A.-style Mexican street eats, leaning into the pop culture moment something like Netflix's Narcos was enjoying. The concept was to bring more globally-inspired eats to Vancouver, using tacos as a canvas to showcase big, bold flavours.
At the time, the truck was based in Port Coquitlam but parked in Vancouver street food hot spots like Railtown and Mount Pleasant, serving up its compact menu of burritos, bowls, tacos, and loaded fries, including offerings featuring bulgogi beef, a concept popular already in L.A. and New York.
While El Cartel sustained itself through the pandemic by doing catering for everything from micro-weddings to Disney and Netflix film sets, owners have been keen to return to the public.
Already familiar to UBC as a previous food truck option, the opportunity to take a vacant space in the Nest for a larger-scale restaurant operation proved irresistible.
Tapping into the opportunity to log more consistent sales, the business has boomed from the get-go, and the team have adapted to the new high demand for their food. The staff have also quickly gotten to know regular customers and the rhythm of when classes get out and the rush comes in. El Cartel has even been able to adjust its menu to be able to offer customers looking to refuel after a workout at the nearby gym by putting a protein bowl on the menu.
While the core El Cartel menu is the same as in its truck era, the crew is at work developing new dishes, like a crispy fried cauliflower, that they offer as a special at an approachable price. The portion size is a bit smaller, but it accords anyone dining on a student budget an affordable option, as well as gives anyone wanting to take a chance and try something new a lower spend.
Remarkably, El Cartel has been able to lower its prices overall, thanks to the steady volume of customers the restaurant has already experienced.
El Cartel's food is made in-house and cooked to order, from the tender, juicy Bulgogi steak that you can get piled high on a mound of crispy fries or in handhelds like tacos, to their sugar- and cinnamon-dusted churros.
As a bonus to what is an underserved population on the UBC campus, El Cartel is 100 per cent halal, though the business has so far relied on word of mouth to spread that detail.
Additionally, El Cartel is looking ahead at growing its hours of operation and menu to give UBC students more opportunities to try their food and experience the lively hangout vibes of their zone in the Nest. Plans are underway to launch a happy hour menu and late-night options to cater to the community's needs, and to put new dishes, like birria tacos with consommé, on the menu.
Currently, El Cartel is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., with plans to extend hours at key times on campus, like midterms.
Watch: El Cartel food truck returns as restaurant space at UBC
@forkingawesomevia This popular Vancouver food truck put it in park in 2020 to focus on catering. This fall they re-opened as a restaurant on the UBC campus with a menu of 100% halal cooked to order items like loaded bulgogi beef fries and post-workout protein bowls, along with tacos, burritos, and churros. #forkingawesome #vancouverbc #halal #ubc ♬ How Long Do I Have to Wait for You? - Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
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