La Fe Tortilleria

In a city with 23,000 Latino residents accounting for 37 percent of the population, La Fe, which means “the faith” in Spanish, has a big hold as the only Tortilleria in town.

“The people in the area enjoy the ability to walk here which is a definite plus,” said owner Hoxsie Smith. “The city envisioned this as an area with residences and businesses in close proximity so you could live and work next door and not have to use a car. Ninety percent of the employees at our restaurant live just around the block.”

La Fe has been in San Marcos for more than 20 years in one form or another. It’s 25 employees produce 2,000 to 3,000 dozen flour tortillas and an equal amount of corn tortillas daily, Monday to Friday. Two delivery trucks and independent distributors take the tortillas across North County, into the city of San Diego to the south and as far north as Newport Beach. Henry’s Marketplace is the largest account.

Wholesale tortilla sales accounts for 70 percent of the company’s overall business, with sales estimated by Smith at $1.3 to $1.4 million annually. Corn is mixed in vats and flour rolled into dough balls before each rolls down separate production lines at the 4,000 square feet building in the heart of the city’s redeveloped Plaza del Paseo Center at 462 West Mission Road.

Vista has a much smaller tortilla factory, but other than that, La Fe is the only, and largest, tortilla maker west of Escondido which features three such factories..

San Marcos officials made La Fe part of an ambitious $18 million redevelopment project executed by the non-profit Southern California Housing Development Corp. about five years ago. Of course, they had to in a way. La Fe sat smack in the middle of the proposed project as well as in the hearts and dining tables of local residents.

Known as Plaza del Paseo, the area now features a vibrant community with 96 low-income apartments, 24 other apartments and 23,000 square feet of retail space with markets, shops, and services of all kinds, including a beauty salon, flower shop, clothing store and video store.

La Fe has a 15-year lease begun in 2002. While the plaza was built, Smith, an Escondido resident who bought the company 10 years ago, had to relocate temporarily to Tulip Street in Escondido. Sales were affected as many customers had trouble finding the new location or getting there.

With the move back to town, sales have been steady although Smith always hopes to improve. He created a La Fe Tortilleria dining experience that has attracted a steady clientele. Still, with its West Mission Road location just off the beaten track that many know as San Marcos Boulevard, Smith wants to get out the word to those who haven’t stopped by just yet.

“A lot of people don’t know we have a restaurant here,” Smith said. “We feel like the people that know about us come back. We have lots of repeat customers. They like our food, our quality, cleanliness and related atmosphere. They see the difference in having our really fresh tortillas and our tamales. We also have a full bakery with Pan Dulce pastries baked fresh daily.”

Restaurant customers also can look first-hand into the tortilla making experience. The facility was designed with glass windows surrounding the factory so interested parties could walk around and watch their tortillas roll off the assembly line.

Smith has taken the experience even farther, hosting tortilla factory tours for schools and educational groups. Recently, the MAAC Head Start program brought three groups of 20 students each to the Tortilleria tour.

“If a school of class calls and wants to do a tour, we always oblige,” Smith said. “We teach the kids about the process, take them through the production area. We let them play with the dough balls and always feed them with cookies before they leave.”

The restaurant has proven especially popular with the younger crowd which is a good thing considering 29 percent of San Marcos residents are under age 18 and 67 percent of Latinos in the county are 34 years old and younger, according to the 2000 Census. Smith said a lot of students from nearby Palomar College, Cal State San Marcos, and San Marcos middle and high schools regularly eat at La Fe as do their teachers.

That was the case Tuesday afternoon as several groups of students chowed down in earnest.

“I come here because the food is good,” said Adalid Castellanos, a sixth grader at nearby San Marcos Middle School. “I love the beans. I’m always here.”

Added Rachel Escalera, who has worked at La Fe since its 2002 return to San Marcos and lives right across the street: “People love the burritos here, the tamales and quesadillas. They definitely like the chicken and rice soup, too.”