Local couple Erika Recendiz and Carlos Aguilera are all smiles in their treats shop. (Heather Van Benthem/The Surveyor)
By Heather Van Benthem
The Surveyor
Seeking to be master of his own destiny, Berthoud resident Carlos Aguilera opened a restaurant called El Gran Sabor in Longmont about fifteen years ago. A combination of unfavorable economic conditions and young children, however, forced the difficult decision to close.
Yet, Aguilera never lost the dream of being self-employed. As the years passed and his children grew older, he worked with someone who had a food truck and he saw that it was a good business.
So, in 2018, he purchased his own.
La Garnacha is the name of his food truck and he parks it at various locations in Louisville, Lafayette, Broomfield, Boulder and Erie, in addition to catering private events. Having moved with his family to Berthoud in 2022, he would like to share his wares locally. He needs interest, however. He has canvassed the town but so far has yet to receive any invitations.
Around the same time, Aguilera and his family opened a brick-and-mortar shop in Longmont to sell ice cream, popsicles, cheesecake, flan and other treats too numerous to list. The store is called La Marquesita, and it is located at 1515 Main St., Suite 5.
Its very name is that of a treat: the marquesita was the invention of a Mexican ice cream vendor trying to find something tempting for sweet teeth in the cold of winter. The result is an ice cream cone made into a crepe and rolled around fillings such as custard, chocolate, cheese and fruit.
Interestingly, the original cheese was a Dutch variety, Edam. Aguilera extends that tradition. His contains finely shredded soft young Gouda, the delicious chocolate hazelnut spread Nutella and sliced fresh strawberries.
In both his food truck and his treats shop, Aguilera and his family are proud that everything is homemade using quality ingredients. The exceptions are the prepackaged items such as chips and sodas, which Aguilera imports from Mexico. He explained that many people come to buy them specifically, as they taste different than those items sold in the U.S. due to somewhat different ingredients.
Aguilera is joined by his wife, Erika Recendiz and their three children, making this a true family endeavor.
They have two additional employees at La Marquesita and one in La Garnacha. Their daughter is the eldest and studying aviation at Metropolitan State University of Denver in addition to baking cheesecakes, making promotional videos for the shop and perfecting her crepes recipe.
Her younger brothers are still in high school. The older of the two, Kenneth, also takes business classes at Front Range Community College. He said, “I want to help my parents with the business and learn more.” His specialty is making ice cream.
Long term, Aguilera would like to have more shops and pass the food truck to someone else. In the meantime, he is pleased to be a part of the Berthoud food truck scene and happy to have achieved his self-employment goal.
“I can survive, you know,” he explained, “and another thing, I can teach my kids more skills.” He can be reached at 720-434-4495.
