Meet Paula & Lawrence Jaconetta | Entrepreneurs

We had the good fortune of connecting with Paula & Lawrence Jaconetta and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Paula & Lawrence, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?
There was a small little taco shack sitting on the end Main Street in Oak Creek, CO. It was not in use the first 4 years we moved to Oak Creek. We made contact with the property manager at the time and got under a rental agreement to use the space for summer tacos and burritos. We absolutely love tacos and wanted to do them our way. My husband Lawrence came up with all the recipes for our tacos and burritos and not a thing has changed with that since the day we started. The business itself has changed and grown dramatically over the last 14 years.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
We are a Taco/Burrito temple in Oak Creek, CO, named after our daughter, Lupita who was 6 months old when we opened. We started with just a little shack in the spring of 2009, one employee selling Burritos, tacos and soda. The Burritos are grilled and our taco are like no other with lots of toppings and grilled tortillas. Once you try them, you will know what I am talking about. We slowly over the years have gown to add beer and wine sales and then into a full liquor license, selling the best Margaritas (you must try).
We started an awesome free concert series in 2019 to celebrate 10 years in business and have continued to offer this to our community every year. We also branded our own flavor hot sauces and sell them to clients near and far.
In the last two years we decided to build our own commercial kitchen on the property. We had been hauling food from our commissary kitchen(two blocks away) for 12 years. It was never easy. This is our first year in the new space and we are loving it. All this has come with so many challenges, from employees, to the pandemic, to building a commercial kitchen. As anyone in the restaurant industry knows all challenges just takes time and patience to figure out.
We are over joyed with the love and support we get every year from new and old customers. It feels so good to be doing something awesome for our small community and for being an inspiration for others.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We would do lots of hikes in theFlat Tops and Zirkel wilderness areas, maybe stoping to swim in the cold mountain lakes. Hitting up Lupita’s for tacos and margaritas, then we would stroll through Oak Creek and visit some of the awesome shops, like Vivian’s floral, Blue’s coffee bar, Emerald’s Closet, stop in and have a cocktail at the Oak Creek Tavern and then definitely head into Steamboat for a soak in Strawberry Park hot springs.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Yes, there are so many people we would like to thank. My parents and Lawrence’s parents for always being supporters of our crazy ideas and helping us in anyway they can along our journey, from painting help, to words of encouragement, they are our rocks. Too Clair, a freelance writer from Boulder who got us our best PR twelve years ago in Sunset Magazine. The PR put us on the map for so many people and gave us a cult following. People come from near and far every summer to eat our tacos and burritos and to enjoy the good vibes. The community of Oak Creek for letting us grow and expand as we needed. Too Chef Bob Long, one of Lawrence’s protégés who taught him so much in the kitchen, how to utilize everything and to be creative, inventive and unique. Lastly to all the knowledge we have accumulated over the years working in the industry, all those jobs play a huge part in who we are now. Without all this, these creative flavorful receipts might have never come into the light.

Website: lupitascantina.com

Instagram: lupitascantina

Facebook: lupitascantina

Image Credits
Photo credit: Paula Jo Jaconetta