This Sacramento taco truck has a spot in Kings star De’Aaron Fox’s heart — and on his shoes

De’Aaron Fox loves Banzitos Tacos so much, he made it known on the court.

The Sacramento Kings’ star point guard wore custom turquoise-and-yellow Under Armour shoes inspired by Banzito’s logo for a March 7 game against the San Antonio Spurs.

Following the Kings’ win, Fox stopped by the Cali-Latin taco truck — parked outside Golden 1 Center for the night — to enjoy his usual order: “The Bistek,” hold the onions. That meant carne asada, avocado, cilantro, crumbled cotija, Banzito’s signature orange sauce and a queso fresco cheese skirt.

Fox repped Banzito’s because he loves the food and because of his relationship with Banzito’s owner Adam Saldaña, who has gone from a fan to a friend of the city’s most famous professional athlete.

Saldaña has now met and cooked for the entire Kings roster on multiple occasions — power forward Trey Lyles holds the team record with six bistek tacos eaten in one sitting, he said. But he’s particularly close with Fox and his wife Recee Caldwell, whose generosity fused their initial connection years before Banzito’s came to fruition.

“They’re just awesome people. I don’t see them as, like, an NBA player or an NBA family. They’re just so down-to-earth and really supportive and just good people at their core,” Saldaña said.

Persistence pays off

Fox is Banzito’s highest-profile fan by far. Saldaña might be Fox’s loudest fan, too.

After seeing Fox’s play during his rookie season of 2017-18, the Kings superfan posted some variation of the same phrase to X (formerly known as Twitter) every day for five years:

“Good morning. De’Aaron Fox will be an All-Star. Have a nice day!”

That declaration was spoken into existence last year, when Fox made his first All-Star team. Since then, Saldaña has added a new line to his daily mantra: “The Sacramento Kings will win the NBA Finals.”

Saldaña’s schtick eventually made its way to Fox’s radar. Then one day in December 2019, Saldaña posted a link to a GoFundMe page benefiting his cousin, who was struggling to cover burial expenses after her father’s death.

Fox saw the post, and privately messaged Saldaña to say he would cover the remaining costs. The two kept in contact, a friendship blossomed, and when Fox and Caldwell hosted the Kings’ Halloween party at their home in 2022, they turned to Banzito’s (then known as Bandito’s) for the catering.

“The whole team, coaches, everybody just went crazy. They fell in love with the food. It was just a great night all around,” Saldaña said. “Since that day, they’ve continued to have us back because they absolutely love the food.”

Banzito’s catered Fox and Caldwell’s baby shower before their son Reign was born in February 2023, as well as other personal parties. Saldaña’s tacos have been on display at Fox Whole Family Foundation events intended to fight breast cancer or support survivors of the disease, such as Fox’s mother Lorraine, and team-wide gatherings.

While “The Bistek” remains Fox’s go-to, Saldaña recently served the Kings point guard “The Jester” (chicken, hickory-smoked bacon bits, grilled pineapple, pickled jalapeños, sweet sauce, cilantro, Parmesan, red pepper flakes and a Colby-Jack cheese skirt).

Fox’s verdict? “It’s fire!”

“(Banzito’s) tacos are impeccable. The quality of each taco in my opinion is superior to tacos I’ve had because of how much Adam cares about his product,” Fox wrote in an email to The Sacramento Bee.

How Banzito’s came to be

A research analyst for Twin Rivers Unified School District until mid-February, Saldaña spent about eight months in 2019 working to open a taqueria and taproom called Bandito’s in downtown Roseville. He and his business partner eventually separated, though, leaving him with a fully-conceived restaurant menu but no way to execute it in a brick-and-mortar space.

Saldaña turned to catering and private chef gigs around Lincoln, where he lives. Dishes such as loaded nachos (Caldwell’s favorite), mango habanero chicken wings and green enchilada quesadillas accrued a bit of buzz around Placer County even before Saldaña befriended Fox, he said.

Saldaña spent about a year getting a taco truck ready for service, changing his business’ name from Bandito’s to Banzito’s in an effort to be more distinctive, he said. The turquoise truck received its necessary permits on Feb. 1, and Saldaña held Banzito’s grand opening on Feb. 24 at Fowler Ranch Farm Brewery in Lincoln.

Lines formed down the block as customers chowed down on Banzito’s 14 types of tacos such as “The 305,” a Miami-inspired play on a Cubano sandwich with carnitas, bacon, diced dill pickles, housemade mustard sauce and a Swiss cheese skirt.

Certain customers had already tasted Banzito’s tacos, of course. Seeing pictures on X of the launch, Fox replied “Glad people finally got to try the tacos we’ve been feeding to the team for years now,” with a laughing face emoji.

Must be the shoes

Banzito’s got the best advertising possible on March 7, when Fox wore one-of-a-kind “Player Exclusive” shoes en route to dropping 33 points on the Spurs.

Player Exclusive shoes are custom one-off shoes produced for specific athletes by major footwear brands. The pair Fox wore earlier this month were a personalized spin on Under Armour’s Curry 1 Flotro — as in, yes, Golden State Warriors rival Stephen Curry.

Black across the top of the feet, Fox’s shoes fade from aquamarine to honey gold along the sides, mirroring the bandana and sombrero colors worn by Banzito’s skeletal mascot.

“He loves the color lay, and he loves Banzito’s,” Saldaña said. “I kind of knew that they were planning something like that, but I had never seen that shoe before, and I didn’t even know he was going to wear them. But all of a sudden, my phone was like, ‘yo, you guys have your own shoe? That’s crazy!’”

PE shoes let athletes tell stories about what’s near and dear to their hearts, lives and interests, Fox said. He plans to shout out Banzito’s with a similar pair annually going forward, he said.

“I think Adam is a key member of (the) Kings community and wanted to have Banzito’s as a PE as an (ode) to the Kings community. Also to show appreciation for the support he has shown me and the team in the years past,” Fox wrote in an email.

Banzito’s already sold t-shirts reading “Taco Kings” or “Tacos & Beams” prior to Fox’s shoe showcase. Now Saldaña is gauging customer interest for a hoodie inspired by Fox’s Banzito’s-inspired kicks.

Saldaña is still figuring out a schedule for how people can actually eat Banzito’s Tacos, with pop-up locations to be posted on the brand’s website and social media pages. One location will be outside Sharif & Co. in Roseville’s Ridge at Creekside shopping center at 1251 Roseville Parkway, though the dates aren’t yet set.

Breweries in Sacramento, Roseville and Rocklin have asked Banzito’s to stop by after seeing photos of the Fowler Ranch launch event, Saldaña said. He still eventually wants to open a downtown brick-and-mortar restaurant and taproom — maybe in Placer County, maybe near Golden 1 Center.

Surely, Fox wouldn’t mind either.