Fernando Ruiz spent his childhood summers in Veracruz, Mexico, where he fell in love with fresh tacos … and which inspired him to start Nixtamal, a tortilla business using the traditional nixtamalization process, in 2008 in Corona, Queens.
Despite initial success, expansion challenges and the pandemic caused setbacks. But Fernando persisted, securing opportunities to sell at the U.S. Open, Mets games at Citi Field, and the Queens Night Market.
In this episode Fernando tells us story behind Nixtamal, and how he transformed Queens' food scene with his authentic, heritage-infused tacos.
"Ways of Showing Up" event details: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ways-of-showing-up-presented-by-epicenter-nyc-and-dept-of-transformation-tickets-928085989177?aff=oddtdtcreator
Learn more about Nixtamal: https://nixtamal.nyc/
Read our full story: https://epicenter-nyc.com/discover-the-heritage-infused-tacos-revolutionizing-queens-food-scene/