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Miguel Jara didn’t plan on becoming a James Beard Award-winner and culinary legend, he just wanted a taco that tasted like home. Back in Tijuana, he worked in an auto body shop. But he couldn’t shake the craving for the kind of tacos you grab from a street stand in Mexico. “Every time I went back to visit friends, they’d want steak or Chinese food,” he said. “Me? I just wanted tacos off the corner.”
So he took a leap that would change his life and the Mission District forever. Jara had no culinary training. No restaurant experience. Just a love of Mexican food and a vision for how things should be done. He found a run-down building on Mission Street, remodeled it on his own, and opened La Taqueria in 1973, its red neon sign now recognized throughout the world. “When I told my dad I was opening a taco place, he said, ‘Are you crazy? You know how to cook beans?'”
Jara didn’t. But on day one, people lined up. His mom ran between tables, trying to keep the hot sauce bottles full. The kitchen ran out of food by 2 p.m., even though they’d prepped enough to last until 9 p.m..
That first lunch rush marked the beginning of a Bay Area institution. The line hasn’t let up since.
Building more than a neighborhood taqueria
Walk into La Taqueria today, and you’re likely to be greeted by Jara himself, handing you a fresh flower, and quite possibly already knowing your name. That kind of personal touch is part of why people keep coming back.
The other reason? The food. “You right away are going to experience the smell of the place… the meat just goes and gets into your nose and it feels good,” Jara described. “Then you go pay, you have to do that, and then you get your food and then you’re going to be really happy.” From the tomatillos to the queso fresco, every ingredient is chosen with care. “We cook twice a day. Everything is fresh,” Jara said with pride.
Just as important as the iconic Mission-style burrito that La Taqueria made famous, is the team behind it. Many of Jara’s employees have been with him for over 30 years. One cook stayed for thirty-six years before retiring.
La Taqueria Owner Miguel Jara
A family legacy, powered by new technology
As the business grew, so did the lines, stretching around the block. That’s when Jara’s sons, Angel and Jesse, stepped in.
They had grown up in the restaurant. They also went to college, and brought new ideas to the business that helped La Taqueria evolve without losing its soul. “Everything we did before was by hand,” Jara said. “Taking the notes by hand, charging the cash register.” Then, Angel and Jesse brought Square to the restaurant. “Wow, what they showed me was going to be faster,” remembered Jara after seeing how Square worked for the first time.
Square changed everything. Orders sped up. Payments got smoother, thanks to hardware like Square Handheld. And Jara, who used to shout across the kitchen, now taps a screen. “That means I don’t have to scream ‘two more tacos for this guy!’ or ‘bring me beer for this one,'” he laughs. “I just do it right here. That is pretty cool. So that has changed the restaurant.”
Square didn’t replace the magic of La Taqueria. It protected it. Tech helped the Jara family streamline its back-of-house operations while keeping the front of house warm, personal, and consistent for both Mission locals and fans visiting from around the world.
These days customers still get a flower. But behind the scenes, the business runs faster and smarter.
A cornerstone of the Mission District and beyond
As the Mission District evolves, La Taqueria remains a fixture. When Jara decided to close on Mondays and Tuesdays, a neighboring business did the same, since customers just weren’t coming when his doors were shut.
The restaurant’s fame has traveled far beyond the Bay Area. Jara tells the story of being recognized in South Korea by a customer after a boxing match. “‘Mike from La Taqueria!'” he remembered someone calling out. He still shakes his head at the memory. “It was amazing.”
He’s also turned down big delivery contracts that didn’t feel right. “They wanted me to make 100 burritos every day. I thought about it, but [it wouldn’t] be fair to my customers waiting in line.”
Advice from a culinary legend
Looking back, Jara has one piece of advice for his younger self: “Don’t work so much.” He used to cook in the mornings, serve customers all day, and clean until midnight. “Everybody was telling me that it was so hard and everything, but it was so much fun. It was not work. I would do it over again.”
Today, Jara still walks through his restaurant with a notebook in one hand and a flower in the other. And his sons are helping lead the way with original yet timeless Mexican-American food, a personal touch, and just the right tech to keep it all moving forward.
