The taco truck has operated in a law firm’s parking lot since 2013. But the city said a new online system caught an oversight missed in past renewal applications.
DENVER — A licensed taco truck that says it has operated in the same location for more than a decade is being told it must relocate if it wants to continue operating, after the City of Denver discovered it should never have been permitted to park there in the first place.
Tacos y Tortas El Peluche has been parked in a law firm’s parking lot on Federal Boulevard since 2013, renewing its city license annually without issue. But when owner Martin Salvador applied for his permit renewal this year, the city denied the application, informing him that the location’s zoning does not allow food trucks on private property.
“The guy that I talked to [with the City of Denver], I told him I’ve been here for 11-12 years, and I’ve never heard about this,” Salvador said. “He’s like, yeah, I don’t know why nobody caught this before. I’m sorry.”
The city’s Department of Community Planning and Development said the zoning has not changed and confirmed the lot is not eligible for the zone use permit required for food trucks operating on private property. The permits exist to protect residential neighborhoods from issues, including trash and increased traffic.
Salvador said a city employee acknowledged the oversight during their conversation.
“It’s like, oh, I’m sorry, I should’ve caught this before, but I just saw that you’re in a zone where you’re not allowed to park,” Salvador recounted of the conversation.
The discovery resulted from a major overhaul of Denver’s food licensing system, according to the city’s Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection. The city moved its application process online for the first time in 2023, allowing vendors to apply from home rather than appearing downtown in person.
The new online application includes more detailed questions than the previous system, including whether a food truck operates on private property. If an applicant answers yes, the system prompts them to provide a zone use permit. The automated process eliminates the possibility of human error that could occur when staff process applications at a front counter.
The city said the new system has made licensing easier and will lead to more food trucks complying with regulations. However, it has also revealed more vendors operating in areas where they cannot legally obtain the required permits.
The Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection told 9NEWS that numerous other food trucks face similar situations due to the new application system’s more thorough screening process. The city emphasized it is not cracking down on food trucks or changing zoning laws, but rather the online system is catching errors that were previously missed.
Maria Monclova, owner of the law firm where the truck parks, said the family has operated with her permission the entire time, and she wants them to stay. She expressed confusion about the situation.
“For 11 years, they’ve had a permit. They renew it on time. They have their insurance. They have everything,” Monclova said. “When they told me that the city no longer wanted to renew their permit, I was shocked because I didn’t understand why.”
Monclova described the Salvador family as hardworking and said the truck has become a community gathering place.
“I feel like it’s a place for the community to come together and interact in a safe way,” Monclova said. “We have a lot of students from the schools. They come and eat there after school.”
The truck has built a loyal customer base over more than a decade at the location. Salvador said some customers have told him they look out their apartment windows to see if the truck’s lights are on before coming down to order.
“I’ve seen little kids now grow up. They’re young adults now. Some of them even have kids,” Salvador said.
“This is what pays the bills, what pays our mortgage, our car insurance,” Salvador said. “It’s the whole thing.”
Salvador said his father has been significantly affected by the news.
“My dad has really been thinking about it a lot,” Salvador said. “He’s really stressed.”
The family is now searching for a new location, though Salvador said the proliferation of food trucks in the area has made finding available spots more difficult than when they started.
“Before, maybe there weren’t a lot of food trucks in the area, so maybe I could move down the block or so,” Salvador said. “But now that there are more food trucks around, it’s a little bit harder to find a place for us to stay.”
Salvador said if the city had caught the error years earlier, the family would have made different decisions.
“I would have looked at another place and then started my business from there, and yeah, I wouldn’t be here, obviously,” Salvador said.
Monclova believes the situation is unfair to the Salvador family and wants the city to change its mind.
“They’ve counted on the city to give them a permit for 11 years,” Monclova said. “They’ve established their clientele.”
Salvador said the family maintains all required permits and insurance and wants to continue operating legally. The truck plans to remain open while searching for a new location.
