LAS VEGAS, Nevada (Vegas Hoy) – A family-owned taqueria in downtown Las Vegas has closed its doors after more than a decade in business, amid immigration fears and rising costs tied to tariffs.
Pinches Tacos opened its doors in the Container Park more than 12 years ago, as part of a plan to revitalize downtown Las Vegas. But the owner, Javier Anaya, said immigration measures and economic pressures had forced them to shut down.
“There downtown, there are a lot of Latinos; I believe about 50% of the downtown community is Latino, or there used to be many of them. It was a place, Container Park, where if you didn’t want to spend money, you didn’t have to spend,” Anaya said.
Anaya said that when so many people stop coming, it isn’t just the restaurant that suffers, but a domino effect is triggered that touches workers, suppliers, and immigrant families across the city.
“My customers told me: ‘Javi, nobody is showing up anymore,’ the crowds dwindled little by little and then the Latino crowd stopped coming as well, and that is my pride—that Latinos eat my food—because you can serve food to anyone else, but when Latinos come to eat, they know it, and that makes me proud.”
The fear, together with the rising costs from tariffs, pushed the business to the limit. Anaya stated that ingredients such as beef and avocados have become considerably more expensive.
“It’s tough because for us it’s more than a business; in my first two years I would work as the cashier,” Anaya said. “I would be the taquero, the dishwasher, and everything.”
Even with small price increases, Anaya said the books simply wouldn’t balance.
“There’s no shame in that after 13 years, but a proud Latino doesn’t want to give up; you don’t want to fail.”
The closing of the downtown location was a hard decision, but Anaya said that for immigrant entrepreneurs, keeping the business open is a daily struggle.
Pinches Tacos in Gramercy remains open, and Anaya added that they are now shifting their focus toward food service, but the fear within the community continues to have a domino effect.
