I recently found myself at the Lake Saint Louis Farmers’ and Artists Market this summer when I came across a bright orange truck serving a scratch-made menu, two simple items, house-made tortillas and everything cooked in beef tallow. I grabbed a carne asada breakfast burrito and immediately tasted the difference. What I loved the most is that I built a relationship with the team and the mission of Casero. I immediately slipped the team my card and said I’d love to see you at Sauce Magazine’s Food Truck Friday. A few hours later, the owner Gesler texted me and asked if there was anything his team can do to make the experience better and wanted genuine feedback on the food. I could tell the passion and drive around getting better in every aspect while also staying rooted in community. I started following Casero on Instagram and connected with the team a few weeks later at another food truck event. These are the stories that I love about our city and the entrepreneurs that build here, I sat down with Gesler and Chloe Joya for a few questions to learn more about their business.
Every great restaurant has a story. What inspired you to start Casero, and how has your personal or family background shaped the way you approach Mexican cooking?
It all started when we were going through immigration processes trying to build a life in the United States, the place where dreams come true. We desperately needed money so we decided to bet on Mexican food because I’ve always had a badass carne asada. But we knew one item wouldn’t be enough so I leaned on my abuelita in Los Angeles and my best friend’s family (familia Alas), who owned Mexican restaurants for advice as we built our first menu.
At the time we were both working at Ballpark Village, so we asked for the chance to run a food stand outside PBR every Friday and Saturday from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m., serving crowds leaving the bars since there wasn’t any other food available. Management (Marcus and Kelby) agreed to giving us the opportunity that changed our lives forever, and kickstarted this journey. At first, our only goal was to make food that tasted good so we could make a living. Ironically, that obsession with flavor eventually led us to discover that food will taste as good as the ingredients used to make it which then became the foundation of Casero.
Scratch-made has become a core part of your identity. Why was it so important to make everything from scratch instead of taking shortcuts, and what do you think customers notice most about that difference?
It all started with salsa. Early on, we tried ready-to-use salsas, but the difference compared to making them from scratch was night and day. We also realized that if everyone buys the same products, every restaurant starts to taste the same, so making everything ourselves became our way of standing out.
That philosophy grew even stronger when Chloe found a love for baking at home and I got deeper into my fitness journey. As we began to prioritize our health and learn more about the critical impact food has in our body, we realized something beautiful: the ingredients that create the best flavor are usually the same ones that nourish us best. It’s almost as if that’s how God designed food to work. Except for broccoli, Gesler hates broccoli.
This solidified what is now Casero’s core mission to make food that tastes like a treat but fuels your body, aka a real meal. We believe our customers don’t just taste the difference they feel it. Instead of feeling sluggish or weighed down, they leave feeling full, energized, and ready to keep going. That’s the experience we want Casero to be known for.
Your menu puts a big emphasis on quality ingredients, generous portions, and protein-packed meals. Was that a conscious decision from the beginning, and how do you balance authentic Mexican flavors with food that leaves people feeling fueled instead of weighed down?
Not at all – it evolved. Once we realized that great flavor and great ingredients go hand in hand, every decision after that became instinctive. We didn’t change the flavors we changed the ingredients. We still use the same flavors that have made Mexican food so iconic for generations; we’re just relentless about finding the freshest, highest-quality versions of them. This intrinsically makes our meals something that fulfills and nourishes.
You cook with beef tallow and traditional fats rather than seed oils. What led you to that decision, and how does it impact the flavor, texture, and overall quality of your food?
To serve our customers something that we do not use ourselves in our own home would be extremely hypocritical. As we learned more about the way that foods we consume are made seed oils were one of the first things that we removed from our kitchen. These oils are refined, and even bleached to remove taste and odors… beef tallow is simply rendered beef fat not something that goes through extensive industrial processing. It also delivers incredible flavor, creates a crisp, golden texture, and has been used in cooking for generations. Perfectly contributing to our mission, it not only makes food taste better but also nourishes the body.
You also prioritize sourcing from local farms whenever possible. Why is supporting local producers important to you, and how does that commitment influence the menu and the way you run your business?
We have a huge sense of community, and people winning together. So what truly drives us to source locally despite sounding extremely cheese is the ability to have an impact. We buy all of our produce from Orlando’s and our dream is to someday make so much salsa that Orlando’s can’t keep up with the amount of tomatoes we will need. That means Orlando’s grows, the local farmers they buy from grow, more trucks are needed to move that produce, and more local jobs are created. That’s the kind of impact we hope Casero can have. And then it becomes this beautiful thing where the community growing together. How awesome would that be?
The modern food system is incredible, but it can also feel disconnected. You can buy berries from one of the biggest brands in the country without ever knowing who actually grew them. You can eat a burger from a global chain and have no idea which ranch raised the cattle. We want the opposite. We want to know the people behind our food and grow alongside them. Most of the time I need to place my order the day before because the owner of Orlando’s, Dom, goes and gets it fresh for us the next day in the morning. And when I go to Orlando’s he’s offloading the truck and placing them on the shelves. That’s what we want, people that care as much as we do and grow together.
Interested in learning more about Casero or booking their food truck for your next event? Follow along on Facebook and Instagram.