Culture & Family Form Essential Ingredients

Victor and Lori Arteaga, McAllen Memorial High School and UTPA (now UTRGV) graduates, own El Vagoncito Chilango and Los Chilaquiles Mexican Buffet with Victor’s cousin, Julio Diaz.

The story of Victor and Lori Arteaga is a tale of two countries.

It is a tale rooted in family, tradition, food and culture. Both were born in Mexico City and moved to McAllen as pre-teens, though they did not meet until years later. At the age of 11, Victor and his family moved to McAllen, where his mother’s sister lived.

The Family Pack at El Vagoncito Chilango includes four orders of tacos, four half orders of fries, four charro beans and four sodas. (Courtesy)

“I didn’t speak any English when I moved over here. None. Zero,” Victor said.

Victor graduated from McAllen Memorial High School and enrolled at then-University of Texas-Pan American, majoring in finance.

Lori and her family, meanwhile, moved to McAllen when she was 12. Lori arrived in the United States fully bilingual as the daughter of an Italian-American mother and a Mexican father. She also attended Memorial High School. In 1989, during her senior year, friends introduced her to Victor, who was a UTPA student. This is where their tales first intertwined and they became a couple.

After graduating from Memorial, Lori earned a degree in Spanish literature from UTPA.

She and Victor would marry years after first meeting. Lori’s father had a well-established machine shop in Mexico City, specializing in the sales, manufacturing, and reconstruction of machinery and equipment for the bottling industry. Today, that company, MPP Equipment, operates in McAllen, with a sister company in Reynosa, Mexico.

Los Chilaquiles Mexican Buffet on South Jackson in Pharr opened four years after the cousins and business partners opened El Vagoncito Chilango across the street.

After Victor graduated from college, Lori’s dad became ill and needed help with the business. Victor and Lori’s brother stepped in and now run the business. Lori is an elementary school teacher in Sharyland ISD. The couple has two sons. But their tale doesn’t end here.

Cousins Partner Up

Victor’s cousin, Julio Diaz, buys and sells used cars and also loves to cook.

“Their grandmother was a really good cook, so she showed her daughters, and they taught their sons, Julio and Victor,” Lori said. “Their cooking styles really complement each other.”

Julio bought a used trailer in 2010 and shipped it to Mexico to have a kitchen installed. The cousins took that converted trailer to open El Vagoncito Chilango on Jackson Road in Pharr. Chilango is slang for people from Mexico City and vagoncito means a little wagon or trailer in English.

Customers rave about the parrillada combo at El Vagoncito Chilango. It includes two parilladas (mixed grilled meat) or skewers, two charro beans, and two sodas. (Courtesy)

“We wanted to be original rather than just calling it ‘taqueria,’” Victor said. “We wanted to bring recipes from the interior of Mexico.”

Lori pointed out that food from the southern and northern regions of Mexico are very different.

The family business would continue to progress as the cousins would go on to open Los Chilaquiles Mexican Buffet right across the street from their first business. From there, they opened a second El Vagoncito Chilango, which is located on Business 83 in McAllen at a site that once served as a gas station and then a car lot.

From the parking lot of Los Chilaquiles Mexican Buffet on South Jackson in Pharr, you can see its “brother” restaurant, El Vagoncito Chilango, across the street.

The original building serves as one of two kitchens at the location, as well as an indoor dining space. A food truck, in what was once the car lot, serves as the second kitchen. The cousins added a covered outdoor structure with plenty of seating.

Customer Favorites

All three of the restaurants are open seven days a week.

Los Chilaquiles serves breakfast and lunch, El Vagoncito Chilango in Pharr serves lunch and dinner, and the McAllen location serves all three meals.

Victor says the different combo meals at El Vagoncito Chilango are customer favorites. They include street tacos, beans, half of a baked potato and a soft drink. Lori’s favorite meat is the suadero, a delectable cut of beef between the cow’s belly and leg. Fried, but not greasy, street-taco-sized corn tortillas are packed with suadero. Add some fresh cilantro, a bit of onion and a squeeze of lime, and you’ll savor every bite. They also serve Mexico-style hamburgers with ham.

This torta combo at El Vagoncito Chilango is another customer favorite. This one is filled with milanesa (breaded meat) and other customer-choice toppings, along with fries and a soda. (Courtesy)

Providing great food and exceptional service is their daily goal. They listen closely to their customers and recently added lonches to the menu as more of a border-style meal. Lonches are small rolls made into sandwiches, usually with fillings like meat, cheese, avocado and salsa. For birthdays and other gatherings, El Vagoncito Chilango prepares a taquiza, (taco party), cooking up their specialties on site. The restaurants also offer carryout.

It’s a tale of two countries and of navigating small-business ownership in different cities. And it’s a tale of love for family, tradition, food and loyal customers.

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