Honduran home cook sells internet-viral burritos for the workers of L.A.

Los Angeles Times

2 days ago

On a Friday morning, Maria Sanchez stands next to a construction site. Steel beams are being hoisted into the dusty pink sky behind her. The trunk of her Hyundai Sonata is open. Inside is precious cargo — dozens of carne asada burritos, hand-wrapped in tinfoil. A construction manager approaches her. If he doesn't like the burritos, she has to leave, he jokes. After a satisfied bite, the manager buys 15 burritos for all of his workers.
'I sell out in 30 minutes — less than an hour, and I'm already gone,' she says. A recent Instagram post says: 'Crazy how I first started selling only 10 burritos a day to now selling up to 60 to 75 burritos a day.'
'Maria la de los Burritos' is a Honduran American home cook who's found social media fame selling burritos out of the trunk of her car. Growing up in a Honduran immigrant household, Sanchez always admired her mother's cooking. As a mother, Sanchez began cooking for her Mexican husband and their two sons. While battling a bout of depression, she got the idea — why not bring her cooking to the workers on the streets of L.A. and, as it turned out, to millions on TikTok?
As ICE raids have gripped the city and sparked a culture of fear across multiple immigrant communities in Southern California, taqueros have vanished from the streets. The Home Depot parking lot, which was once bustling with day laborers, is empty, Sanchez notes. 'A lot of vendors that I usually see around that area weren't there either,' says Sanchez.
In Inglewood, the Honduran immigrant community is struggling to stay afloat, with their businesses in peril. 'A lot of people are affected by it,' says Sanchez. 'My mom has a friend who has a business where she cuts hair. It's been so slow. Nobody wants to come out of their houses.'
Sanchez's mother urges her to be cautious when selling food, as legal citizens have been targeted in ICE raids as well. During the ongoing raids, Sanchez was nervous about selling burritos but decided to after fervent encouragement on social media. In the morning, she arrived to a line of hungry construction workers.
'Sometimes, eight people are right there already waiting in line for me to come. I get nervous when I see a lot of people. I'm like, 'Oh my God, I'm doing all this on my own,'' she says. 'I always tell people: As Latinos, we make it happen.'
Sanchez adds another element of appeal to her work — long eyelashes, French-tipped acrylic nails, maroon lips and curve-hugging denim. The aesthetic resembles a popular Mexican style of dress called buchona, characterized by flashy accessories and cinched waists.
'I've always liked dressing like that,' Sanchez says, laughing. At 3 a.m., before assembling burritos, Sanchez carefully applies her makeup, resembling the timeless beauty of Selena Quintanilla. She loves presentation, she explains.
'People will say, 'You get your makeup and hair done. You still manage to get ready and still do burritos. They'll always be in shock,' she says.
Her immigrant parents encouraged her to dress modestly in her childhood. When she moved out, she began experimenting with fashion. 'I never got the chance to dress the way I wanted,' she says. 'I moved out of the house and moved in with my boyfriend. I started doing what I wanted to do and how I wanted to dress.'
Sanchez's career as a beloved, now internet-famous burrito vendor began in the Inglewood Home Depot parking lot in October 2024.
'People tell me they never see people selling burritos. I see tamales and empanadas, never just a pure standard burrito. I got the idea — let me try selling burritos,' says Sanchez.
Like most children of Los Angeles, Sanchez has had a lifelong romance with Mexican food. 'I do cook some of my culture's food, but I cook more Mexican food because my husband is Mexican,' Sanchez explains. Growing up in South-Central, she developed a deep affection for Mexican cuisine, visiting La Luz Del Día restaurant downtown most weekends.
Her burritos were an immediate success. She sold out each time, sometimes in just an hour, with her no-frills, crowd-pleasing classics like carne asada, pollo and breakfast burritos, priced at $5 each.
At Home Depot, selling burritos as an attractive 26-year-old woman came with hazards. Occasionally, Sanchez was subjected to men filming her, whistling and harassment. It can be vulnerable, she explains. 'I don't see young girls my age dressed up the way I am, selling food alone,' she explains. At the construction site, Sanchez has befriended many of the workers who eat her burritos, which deters harassment. 'I'm super talkative with all my customers,' she says.
Weeks passed, and the mood shifted to uneasiness among the customers as threats of an ICE raid loomed, Sanchez noted. 'In that last week in Home Depot, I wasn't getting as much clientele because a lot of people are scared to go out,' she explains.
In January, Home Depot management was forced to ask Sanchez to leave. Her burritos were becoming too popular and creating a traffic hazard.
In the coming weeks, Sanchez began wandering Inglewood, scouting construction sites for potential customers. By then, Sanchez's business had already exploded. She began posting videos of her cooking on TikTok and Instagram, which, to Sanchez's surprise, went viral. She gained over 27,500 followers on Instagram with cooking videos that amassed millions of views.
Sanchez was bewildered by her newfound fame: 'That's what motivates me to keep going because people are watching.'
Sanchez's business has only swelled since leaving Home Depot. The workers were delighted with her home-cooked and affordable Mexican food, which was a delicious and cost-effective alternative to fast food. 'I've never had a single complaint to this day,' she says proudly.
If Los Angeles is crowded with amazing Mexican food, what makes Sanchez's burrito rival the rest? Her breakfast burritos are filled with fluffy eggs and sausage — each hearty bite packs a punch of flavor, evenly distributed throughout the burrito. The carne asada is accompanied by tangy, vibrant homemade sauces that Sanchez makes by hand. For a construction worker, a burrito offers a generous, portable meal — a missile of nutrition.
She starts cooking each day at 4 a.m. 'Nothing is made the night before, besides the beans, which take three to four hours to cook,' she says. 'I want everything freshly made in the morning. That's the point for me. '
Sanchez credits her business savvy to her mother. As a child, to instill independence in Sanchez, her mother would send her to downtown L.A. to sell gum on the sidewalks. 'She always put into my head: You can get what you want on your own. You can do it.,' Sanchez says. 'She's always by my side.'
Sanchez hopes that her burrito business inspires other young women to start loncheras, or mobile food businesses. Occasionally, she creates tutorial videos about selling burritos and reassures women looking to start their own ventures. 'A lot of young girls tell me, 'I want to do this. I'm only 22 years old, but you're inspiring me to do it,' she says. 'I want to show girls that even though you're young, you could make it happen.'
Sanchez dreams of one day owning a truck — a proper lonchera. 'I want to do it all pinked out,' she says, smiling. 'I'm trying to save as much money as I can for that.'