A food stall serving fresh takes on traditional Mexican street food opens in uptown Charlotte this Sunday. It’s the result of a yearslong labor of love by a local woman whose family is from Mexico City.
Kimmy Bazan is 24 years old. She was born and raised in Charlotte and has been cooking since she was 7.
“I started cooking just to help my dad out,” Bazan said. “He’s a single parent, and he worked in construction. I figured cooking was a way I could take some of that stress off of his shoulders.”
When she was 20, Bazan sold tamales in a Compare Foods parking lot. Less than one year later, she launched her own business, El Veneno, which translates to “the poison.”
“It started out of my dad’s house on a breakfast griddle,” Bazan said. “I was cooking on one of those.”
While studying nutrition at UNC Greensboro, she would drive down on the weekends to Charlotte, steadily building a customer base through social media.
“The rapid growth that we had on our social media was due to the stupid reels and stuff that we would post,” Bazan said.
At first, she served tacos and Mexican street food from her car or a tent, but in May 2023, she leveled up to a food truck. This weekend, she will open her first permanent location in Monarch Market in uptown Charlotte.
El Veneno’s menu includes a lot of traditional Mexican street dishes with a twist.
“The best seller I would say is the ribeye, but it’s pretty much like another version of asada,” Bazan said. “I think asada is always the best seller, everyone loves steak. But, al pastor is very popular.”
Traditional al pastor includes pork, pineapple and red spice. Bazan’s version is made with black spice, which gives it a black color. All taco fillings at El Veneno are made to order.
Bazan also serves a torta, which translates to sandwich. El Veneno’s torta is filled with ribeye, melted cheese, beans and guacamole.
Another popular item on the menu is a gordita. It’s a thick corn patty that is deep-fried and stuffed with a protein such as ribeye or chicken.
“We try to do everything every day to keep the best product available to the customers when they come through,” Bazan said.
Bazan said the secret ingredient in all of the dishes El Veneno prepares is love.
“You can tell when someone cooks with passion, with heart, with soul,” Bazan said. “And you can tell when somebody does it just to do it. You can tell.”
El Veneno’s grand opening will take place this Sunday at Monarch Market off North Tryon Street in uptown Charlotte.
