Case Studies
Taqueria La Estrella uses Otter for their Restaurant & Food Truck
In today’s restaurant industry, a successful brand owned by a passionate family is hard to come by. That’s what makes San Francisco’s Taqueria La Estrella special. Founded by the Carmona family, this business isn’t just a few taco shops. It’s a chain of iconic Mexican eateries that’s shaping (and feeding) its community! Across two dine-in locations and a full-service food truck, Taqueria La Estrella serves home-cooked meals to eaters in Richmond, Vallejo, and El Cerrito. How do they keep it all under control? With Otter’s Restaurant Operating System, of course!
The chain’s Operations Manager, Karina Carmona, knows that too many tablets in the kitchen can spoil her team’s productivity. After finding Otter’s all-in-one hardware, she and the Taqueria La Estrella brigade unlocked more efficiency and profit across their entire franchise. Inspired by how the restaurant blended today’s tech with time-tested family tradition, we sat down with Karina to learn more. Through Otter’s cross-cultural accessibility, Taqueria La Estrella can fulfill orders faster, easier, and more effectively.
What is your role at Taqueria La Estrella?
Karina: I help manage our chain of restaurants and our food truck. Right now, we’re focusing on our Bay Area location.
How did you get involved with the restaurant?
My dad started the business up because he wanted us to work in a place where we wouldn’t have to work for anybody else. At that age, we didn’t really care – this was back in 2005 – but here we are. It was something that ended up very well. I’m grateful for it.
Tell us the story of Taqueria La Estrella.
We’ve been open since 2005. I hadn’t thought about how long it’s been until you asked me! (gasp) It’s been this long!
I don’t know why they decided to open a restaurant. My dad’s always been a mechanic. We weren’t raised knowing how to cook. My mom did everything for us. That’s why I was like, “Why a restaurant? You could do anything!” We didn’t know a thing about cooking. My brother and my dad did, though. They worked in restaurants for several years. They managed a really big restaurant in Chicago – it was like a taco factory! So they had the experience, and they thought it would be good for us.
What’s it like working with your family?
I feel grateful about it. That happened after I became a mom, when I didn’t have such a huge responsibility. I didn’t have to be constantly here during the day. After I had my baby, I was like, “Oh, no wonder my parents do this and that!” I felt I had to improve the business, because they were helping me improve myself with my kid.
What’s it like to work in a restaurant environment?
I enjoy it, because it’s always something different, even though there are routines for everything. There’s always somebody different. You make a lot of friends. At the same time, it’s like a routine, because we have to do things a certain way, but there’s always something that’s going to happen that’s different.
When I worked in an office, it was the same thing every day. The same routine. We had procedures for everything. And I hate routines! In the restaurant, we do keep a routine for certain things, but there’s always somebody new doing something different. I like that. When we have different orders, like catering orders, things take us away from the routine.
What made you want to expand the business?
When we started, we used to rent, but we couldn’t do everything we wanted. That was one thing I hated: we couldn’t paint. One of the walls was a really awkward color – like, green. I was like, “What are we gonna do with that color!?” It didn’t feel Mexican. We decided to buy out the building and expand so we could do anything we wanted. I love doing that, still to this point. I love changing anything that I want. When you rent, it’s really different.
How did you open the Taqueria La Estrella food truck?
It got to a point where people were lining up down the street – it was beautiful! I think that’s what pushed us into it. A lot of people told us that we were positively changing the neighborhood, so my dad decided to make use of our parking space. People were excited to come, and were like “Oh my gosh!” It changed the whole street so much.
A lot of our customers say that they’re amazed we serve our full, original menu in our food truck. They’re like, “How do you do it!?” That’s what I admire about my brother and my dad, because they keep control of everything. They’re able to do dishes that aren’t common in a food truck. In a food truck, everything has to be fast. So they make it fast, but it’s at the quality of a sit-down meal. We’re equipped to go – I really admire that about my dad and brother.
What kind of orders make up the majority of your sales?
We do most of our business through delivery – about 90%. I didn’t like it in the beginning. I’m getting used to it. But it’s easy! When it was mostly people sitting here, it was a lot more work. We needed more of everything. What we’re good at is making the food. That’s what’s easy about delivery. You just get the order and make the food. Deliveries are what’s helping.
The food truck was very, very busy. It’s in a really good location. People have known us for such a long time. It’s really amazing that people know us from either the food truck or our Bay Area location. In Vallejo, we had some guys who worked for an ambulance company, and they were like, “What are you doing here!? I’m glad we found you!” They used to park beside our food truck to rest, and now they visit us in Vallejo.
How does Taqueria La Estrella build a loyal customer base?
I like going to places that treat you like a person. I like going to places where people greet you. That’s what we have here. It’s a fast food place, but at the same time, people treat you like family here. We give you attention.
What’s the most challenging aspect of your job?
For sure, the most challenging part would be managing time. You have to be here. Now that I’m a mom, I wanted to get back to work. But now I’m split. Making time for everything is a huge challenge, but somehow we make it. I’m always thinking about how my brother, dad, and mom would do things. My mom’s always looking for things to improve or change.
How has the restaurant’s delivery changed over the years?
Before COVID, we kind of ventured into delivery, but it didn’t become so significant until the pandemic hit. We started with online orders, even at the food truck. I thought it was going to be harder to get people to know us, so we needed to do something different. At first, we didn’t have WiFi, so I had to bring my own computer and take orders myself. Catering orders have been big for us.
Today, most items get prepped in the food truck and crafted in the restaurant. With the help of technology like Otter and our POS systems, everything just became easy.
Which delivery platforms does Taqueria La Estrella use?
We’re with Grubhub, DoorDash, and Uber Eats. I’m trying to get to the point where we get more direct orders. With some companies, I feel like we don’t get our money’s worth, but Online Ordering is really helpful, because we’re using it to grow orders. I’m grateful. I’m trying to increase our direct orders to an amount where we don’t have to rely on other companies.
What impact has Otter had on your restaurant’s sales?
In Vallejo, they’re increasing every day. I’m really happy, because I can see the order increase in Online Ordering. With our own direct orders, we never have complaints or issues.
How long have you been an Otter customer?
We’ve been with Otter since we re-opened after COVID. After we re-opened, we had, like, five tablets from different companies. Since we needed the business, we were doing everything we could. The whole front of the food truck was covered with tablets. In our restaurant, it wasn’t that bad, because we had space. But imagine in a food truck!
We had to have so many tablets and chargers running all day. We had three printers, because each platform used a different one. I had to buy each piece of hardware. We had to pay attention to which orders were coming through which platform. We were struggling. I was always researching a solution.
I tried another company before Otter, but it took them forever to set up the menus. They never finished! So I gave up and went with Otter. I thought it was going to be the same, but, luckily, I’m really happy with it. Overall, it’s the one company that’s really helped us.
What other benefits has Otter had on Taqueria La Estrella?
Working with Otter has improved our entire team’s efficiency like a thousand percent. We have staff that don’t speak English or aren’t into technology, but you don’t need to be into it with Otter. Tickets print out automatically – we don’t need to do anything but accept the orders and mark them as ready to be picked up. If it wasn’t that easy, I don’t think we could even use it – it wouldn’t be helpful. It’s worked especially well for our Dad, who isn’t into technology at all, and he’s OK with it. So it’s got to be good!
What does your staff think of Otter?
They really like it! They used to have to interact with customers themselves, which was tough during COVID. Again, most of the staff don’t speak English, which made it even more difficult. We’ve been in business so long with our team, and we didn’t want to let them go. With Otter, we didn’t need to. Otter made it easy for us to get orders. The thing we’re best at is making food – Otter takes care of getting it to the customer.
What has your experience with Online Ordering been like?
About a year ago, I was interested in adding a direct order integration to our POS. We had another company that gave us a direct order platform, but they didn’t sync with Otter, and I didn’t want to use multiple tablets. When Otter said they had a direct ordering option, I was like, I’ll give it a try. I didn’t think it was going to be that helpful. But it’s amazing! We get our direct orders and our delivery app orders in the same tablet, with the same procedure. We didn’t have to learn anything new.
Which Otter solution is your favorite?
One of my favorite Otter features is being able to pull reports. That was another headache at the end of each month – I had to pull reports from each part of the business. Now, I just do it from Otter! That part of the app is amazing. It’s really helpful.
Which Otter solution does your team use most?
Order Manager. We love the ease of it. You just have to accept the order, mark it as ready, and you’re done! Oftentimes, other business owners will come up to us and ask what we’re using – I can’t tell you the number of people that have asked what our system is! I love having [Otter]’s people put it all together. It allows us to just work. I love that!
How would you describe Otter to another restaurant?
I have already recommended it, because people see it’s so easy and get excited. There are so many other companies out there that reach out to us. It’s not easy to learn new things – we don’t have the time, and I don’t have the energy. Otter helped load the menu and everything for us, but you can always change things yourself. So I tell other business owners that it’s really easy. You can rely on the company to help you get to work.
What’s your vision for the future of Taqueria La Estrella?
I want to continue to improve. I want to get to the point where most of our orders are direct. I want to get more pickup orders, too. In Vallejo, pickup is improving a lot. Customers are used to big companies, but when I tell them that they can order direct from us online, they do it. With Otter, they can just scan a QR code and pick up their order. They don’t need to download anything.
Do you want to pass the business on to your kids?
Yes, and to my nieces and my nephew. They grew up here. My sisters and in-laws all work here, so they’d pick the kids up from school and let them help around here. Right now, my baby’s a little too young to help around. But I’d love to get to a point where he can!
What are your top three dishes at the restaurant?
My first would definitely be our burritos – I like a plain burrito. Most people want extra this, extra that, but I love a regular burrito. And tacos! People ask me what kind I recommend, but there are so many varieties. Tacos are classic. Our corn quesadillas, too. My sister cooks them, and she makes them really homey – like, homestyle, instead of fast food. People start hearing about our quesadillas, and they come asking for them.
That’s why Taqueria La Estrella is a community icon!
From one motivated restaurateur’s dream to an ever-growing chain, Taqueria La Estrella has earned its place in Bay Area cuisine. Through the hard work and dedication of the Carmona family, this eatery is set to be a local hotspot for generations! Otter makes Taqueria La Estrella’s service, orders, and growth easier, letting the team focus on what they do best: cooking. We’re proud to support this family’s continuing success, and we hope you’ll drop in soon for Mexican food from the heart.
