These family-owned Mexican restaurants are combining at 2 new metro Phoenix locations
Tacos, quesabirrias, esquites and raspados. That's the kind of mix offered at Frutilandia and Taqueria Factory, a dual-concept restaurant that recently opened two locations in the Valley.
It's all due to the success of the first dual experiment, which opened right after Thanksgiving at Tempe's Arizona Mills, offering Mexican snacks, such as esquites, raspados and churros, as well as a complete menu of tacos, burritos and birria with essential Mexican beverages like micheladas, margaritas and imported Mexican beers.
A second location opened on Jan. 8 in Mesa and the Garfio family, which has been operating businesses in the Valley for almost two decades, plans to open more.
How dual Frutilandia and Taqueria Factory came to be
Gamaliel Garfio, founder and owner of Frutliandia and Taqueria Factory, told The Arizona Republic that the combo idea came to them after opening a location in June 2022, when he and his wife bought a building in Chandler, on the corner of Arizona Avenue and Ray Road.
It was here that the first-ever location of Taqueria Factory was opened, right next door to a Frutliandia — a Mexican snack business and franchise that they launched in February 2006.
“Although (the businesses) are separated by a wall, there is a door through which people can go to experience the two concepts. After we opened, we started to see that people came, had their tacos and most of them walked through the door to eat ice cream or some strawberries and cream, or a raspado (snow cone) at Frutilandia,” said Garfio.
After several months of observing customers — while at the same time finalizing plans to open another Taqueria Factory in Tempe — the Garfios realized that they could take advantage of a dual business.
The Tempe location, managed by his daughter Brianna Garfio and her boyfriend Edward Valdez, lent itself to this new concept since the restaurant had a large enough kitchen for both food establishments. With an added bar area and a drive-thru element, the plan was set in motion.
"As soon as we opened it we realized that it is one of the best decisions we ever made and the sales since they opened have been very healthy, spectacular, you could say, compared to other (locations)," he said.
The third dual location of Frutilandia and Taqueria Factory is already in the works, and could open as soon as spring 2024. The family plans to install it in the same location as the first-ever Frutilandia, which opened nearly 18 years ago in Mesa.
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Two decades of bringing Mexican goodies to the Valley
Garfio, 52, a longtime resident of Gilbert, is originally from Sinaloa, Mexico. His family migrated to Los Angeles when he was 15 years old, where he stayed for several years and where he met his now wife Eloísa Garfio, who is originally from Jalisco, Mexico.
When he was 32, he moved to Phoenix with his wife and their three children: Fernando, 32, Gabriel, 30, and Briana, 23.
Within a few years of arriving in Phoenix, he opened the first Frutilandia in Mesa, at the corner of Southern Avenue and Gilbert Road. The shop offered all the goodies he grew up with in Sonora: raspados, churros, esquites, tostilocos and more.
“We opened out of necessity, you could say, because there was nowhere in Arizona at that time where you could buy some strawberries and cream, an escamocha (fruit salad), a raspado. We saw it as a good opportunity to bring those snacks to an area where they did not exist,” Garfio recalled.
They started with a very simple menu, without a logo and with limited finances. It was successful, pushing the Garfios to soon offer franchising and opening numerous locations throughout the Valley.
Years later, the idea of opening a taqueria came to fruition, an inspiration that arose from Garfio's constant visits to Tijuana, Baja California — a border city known for its tacos.
One taqueria in particular caught his attention: Tacos El Gordo. When they purchased the building in Chandler in 2022, he proposed the idea of creating something similar to that Tijuanan taco shop. "We decided to do it and thank God we did things well."
Almost 20 years later since the first Frutilandia, there are now 12 locations in the Valley: seven Frutilandia, two Taqueria Factory and three dual restaurants, including the upcoming dual reopening in Mesa.
A generation of Garfio restauranteurs
The Garfios are an entrepreneurial family. For about 20 years Eloísa and Gamaliel Garfio have managed several businesses and franchises, including three Big O Tires. Their children have followed in their footsteps.
The most involved in the family business is Briana, who along with her boyfriend Valdez are the co-owners of the two dual-concept locations in Tempe and Mesa.
Fernando Garfio, the eldest son, is the manager of the first Taqueria Factory in Chandler, while Gabriel, the middle child, is a professional chef who has worked in different restaurants and purchased the first franchise for Taqueria Factory, opening the second location in Chandler on the corner of Ocotillo Road and Baseline Road.
"They have learned a lot from the businesses that they're even leaving me behind, and I am happy because they like it, they are very interested and they are very hard-working," said Garfio.
Details: several locations and hours:
Frutilandia, https://www.frutilandiausa.com/chandler.
Taqueria Factory, https://www.taqueriafactory.com/.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Family behind Frutilandia and Taqueria Factory opens more locations
