Three South Philly Mexican restaurants are rolling again after replacing stolen vehicles, thanks to community support

Marcos Tlacopilco travels to either New York or Maryland to get the fresh fish he needs for his restaurants, Marco’s Fish Market & Crab House and Alma del Mar, which he named after his wife and business partner, Alma Romero.

And Ignacio “Nacho” Flores constantly uses his vehicle to get food and supplies for his restaurant, Los Taquitos de Puebla.

“He (Flores) took a major financial hit.”

So when the two vehicles were stolen last summer, it caused a major upheaval for all three South Philly restaurants.

» READ MORE: Three beloved South Philly restaurants are at risk after theft of two vans critical to their operations

But thanks to a now disabled GoFundMe campaign, 341 people gave $22,055 in donations that ranged from $5 to $600 — which was half the tab for replacing Tlacopilco’s refrigerated van and Flores’ business vehicle. Support from the city’s Department of Commerce was helpful in securing theadditional funds.

As one supporter predicted when the campaign began in August, “Don’t worry, the community will come together for you.”

Because fish needs the right temperature to maintain its freshness, during every shopping trip after the theft, Tlacopilco found himself in a nightmarish rush against melting ice and warming fish because the van he borrowed from his sister-in-law was unrefrigerated.

“Oh my God, it was terrible for me,” he recalled.

Meanwhile, Flores’ shopping days started with finding the neighbor, friend or family member willing to lend him a car.

“He’s OK [now],” said Ángel Ballesteros, a commercial corridor manager whose South Philadelphia territory includes all three restaurants’ 9th Street Market location. “But he took a major financial hit. It really put him in trouble.”

“The struggles that face small entrepreneurs are often invisible,” said Kersy Azocar, president and CEO of Greenline Access Capital, whose loan clients are all Latino and immigrants from Latin America, the Caribbean, and Mexico. “The stealing of a vehicle shouldn’t be a crisis, but it is because small businesses don’t have savings.”

“I didn’t know how expensive it was to get a refrigerated truck,” said Tlacopilco, who had had his truck for over seven years. “When the police asked me the value of the [stolen] truck, I innocently said $16,000. When I went to replace it, oh my God, it was $120,000.”

Tlacopilco purchased a 15-year-old truck to stay within his $35,000 budget.

“I want you guys to know you have support. There are so many people who appreciate you and your hard work in your business,” wrote another GoFundMe donor while the campaign was active.

When they first set up the GoFundMe page seeking donations, Tlacopilco admitted in his appeal letter, “We never imagined to be in this position.”

Alma del Mar had been featured for a makeover on the fifth season of Netflix’s Queer Eye and that brought them national attention.

“I saw your makeover show and love Mexican food, but even more your family and was planning to visit the next time I was in Philly!” wrote another donor.

“We saw the power of our community, we felt it first hand.”

Many small business, especially those that have bootstrapped their business, often find themselves short of capital when a crisis hits. “Ideally small businesses should have six months of reserve for emergencies and have good credit. But that’s not realistic,” Azocar said.

Crises can compound. This was not thefirst costly, crime-related setback Flores has experienced. In August 2022, he was closing the restaurant when someone entered his establishment and threatened to kill him, broke windows and other fixtures, and did more than $1,500 in damage that was not covered by his insurance.

And two weeks ago, someone stole Alma del Mar’s ATM.

“It’s no way to make out the license tag. The [video] doesn’t have enough quality and it’s blurry like (video) from the 1990s,” Tlacopilco said.

» READ MORE: Philadelphia Mexican Business Association members met with public officials and police over public safety concerns

For now, with the car thefts behind them, Tlacopilco makes his weekly trips and Flores remains busy bringing in supplies and food. But the trio have a new understanding of their beloved status in the neighborhood. And Tlacopilco said he is amazed at the America’s helping culture.

“It’s important for me. [Whether you gave] five dollars or ten dollars, it helped,” Romero said, adding they have received so many messages that she is still responding to them.

Tlacopilco sent out a thank-you note to hundreds of donors over their now disabled GoFundMe page.

“Vimos el poder de nuestra comunidad, lo sentimos de primera mano,” Tlacopilco wrote . “We saw the power of our community, we felt it first hand.”