Bring Moya's Tacos Back To River North Brewery!

Intro and My Background

Hello readers! My name is Jesse Moya and I’m a 29 year old Colorado native seeking help to start my taco business “Moya’s Tacos” up again. With a difficult past it’s making this task of starting up a business very hard.

I grew up an only child by a single mother who passed away when I was 16 years and I have been making it on my own ever since. I’m an artist at heart and I have a passion for food (especially tacos) which brings me here starting a gofundme.

Growing up being an only child was definitely lonely. My mother raised me by herself until I was 16 years old at which point she passed away from stomach cancer. From the time she was diagnosed with cancer until the time she passed I only had about 3 months left with her. I ended up moving in with my aunt and uncle when she passed and they had no kids living at their house at the time. I had a basement room to myself for the rest of my high school years and it was very hard for me mentally.

My family never really had the money to help out with school, the costs of living, and other expenses so I had to pretty much figure everything out by myself. It’s particularly hard for somebody to do everything by themself with nobody really “close” to you to help out. I feel like my mom was the closest person in my life and then one day she was gone. How does one go about doing anything when the number one person in their life leaves? It’s not the easiest thing to do and it still is hard doing things on my own to this day. Sometimes life throws you punches and you have to take them. So how does one cope with it? Well, you make the best out of your situation, work hard, recognize the past was good, but also that there can be an amazing future.

Since I was 15 years old I’ve been in the service industry working jobs ranging from theaters to serving, cooking, and managing kitchens. I don’t know how many people would say it, but I grew a love for the service industry because I genuinely LOVE food and people. I love the process of making something, delivering it to another person and seeing that person get pleasure from (what I would call) my art! I think in general nothing makes me happier than making people happy and I can do that with my food!

After seven years of managing, marketing and cooking for a restaurant in Denver I was let go during the COVID-19 pandemic due to Covid issues. I was unsure of what I wanted to do next, and let down to say the least, but I knew two things: I wanted to share my food and I wanted to work for myself!

The Start of Moya’s Tacos

I remember one night being unemployed and having friends over for tacos (I just wanted to make tacos) and I had a certain vision of the ingredients and how I wanted to assemble these tacos. I took my vision, made the tacos and my friends absolutely LOVED THEM. They told me that I should sell those tacos, I agreed and I came up with my new company name Moya’s Tacos. After making the concept and perfecting my recipes I reached out to River North brewery in the RiNo art district and asked if they’d be interested in sampling my tacos. They were all for it! So one day I made exactly 32 tacos and delivered them to the brewery. The staff loved the food and the marketing manager of River North gave me the opportunity to sell tacos at one of their locations throughout the summer of 2021.

The debut of Moya’s Tacos at River North Brewery was a huge success and the rest of the summer was also pretty successful. I gained returning customers, had huge fans of my food and even got a write up in the Westword Magazine about my new taco concept!

The Problem and Possible Solution!

After months of doing tons of research and making multiple calls to the city and county of Denver I came to the conclusion that my “tent and griddle” set up wasn’t going to be able to get licensed by the city. The ONLY way for me to get my food license from the city for my specific business model was to either get a food truck or a food trailer. This was super discouraging because I had been researching the prices of food trucks/trailers and they just seemed to be way too expensive and I had absolutely no financial help.

I wasn’t going to take no for an answer, but ​​with costs adding up I knew I couldn’t do it just by myself. This is my dilemma. I can’t continue my business without a food license and I can’t get my food license without a food trailer. This is the one time in my life that I have asked for any financial help, but it’s really the help I need at the moment. I figured I would start this gofundme to try and raise money for the trailer and startup costs that my business is going to face; things like: insurance, registration, permits, licensing, supplies etc. I’m asking for help so that I can get this once thriving taco business up and running again as soon as possible!

This is more than just raising money to me. This is growing up with little and making something amazing of myself. This is achieving (what seemed to be) the impossible without newer resources such as new crowdfunding platforms. This is being a part of the local community and spreading joy/happiness in terms of excellent tasting food. This particular community is new, still up and coming and blossoming with new businesses; it is a community where you need money to compete. This will show people it’s possible with the help of some extraordinary people. This is success to me. This will break the norm (especially in this area) of your typical rich individuals who start a food concept with ease, but with no heart, no food background and no personal touch.

Don’t we want something different in this community? Something more heartful, more personal and maybe something just a little bit smaller (than a lot that’s already out there) that actually means something and represents more than just great tasting food. It would be absolutely incredible to see this concept of mine sprout up in an area dominated by the wealthy. It would be awesome to change the norm, set favorite franchises aside for a second and support a smaller business ran by one man (with what he thought was an impossible dream). This is my wish. I have a vision of a successful campaign that will lead to the re-opening of my business. This is the start to what could be a new staple in the RiNo area of Denver, Colorado. Moya’s Tacos could one day be “the spot to go” the “talk of the town” and it would’ve all started with your donations. So please consider donating to help me build my dream of buying a food trailer and starting my taco business up again. I appreciate all donations from the bottom of my heart. Thank you and much love to all.