Mitote Food Park marks 1-year anniversary — and the celebration doesn’t skimp on delicious eats

Tantalizing ceviche and steamy quesabirria tacos were among the dishes served Thursday during the one-year anniversary celebration of Santa Rosa’s Mitote Food Park, considered the first Mexican food truck park in Northern California.

The food park’s owner and operator, Octavio Díaz, said the last year has felt more like a mere few months with all the hustle and bustle.

“It’s easy to say that we’ve been here one year, but it just seems like we’re just busier, busier and busier,” he said to over 100 guests who gathered for the ceremony at the park.

And he looks forward to what is next: helping the park’s seven food trucks scale their businesses.

“How do we work together with one another, find business for one another and help each other out and build each other up instead of tearing each other down?” he told the crowd.

He hopes the food trucks will consider launching brick-and-mortar locations, or even a second truck in another city.

The Mitote Food Park, which opened in July 2022, marked the first installment of a long-promised project to revitalize the Sonoma County-owned parcel off Sebastopol Road into a mixed-use commercial and residential village.

The celebration at Mitote, Nahuatl for party or gathering, featured live music by Mateo Guzman and a performance by Ireri Ballet Folklorico of Petaluma. About 40 students performed a colorful 30-minute set with dances from Jalisco, Colima and other Mexican regions.

Eva Avila, of Petaluma, whose son dances with Folklorico, arrived early Thursday with friends ahead of the performance.

“We like the ambiance,” she said. “It’s an ambiance that is culturally rich.” She then grabbed a panucho — a fried tortilla filled with refried beans and topped with meat, pickled red onion, lettuce, avocado and tomato — made by food truck Yuca Mami.

“This place has everything that one could ask for ... It’s perfect here,” she said between bites.

Mitote has become a local favorite for many, like Nu Vang, of Santa Rosa.

“We try to come every weekend to support,” she said.

Vang was at Thursday’s event with her family and a friend. Of Hmong descent, she enjoys learning about and partaking in the vibrant Latino culture found in Roseland. She has gotten quite a sampling at Mitote.

The location features a daily rotation of seven food trucks that represent different Mexican regions and flavors: Pezcow Food Truck, Antojitos Victoria, Super Taco, Gio y Los Magos, Yuca Mami, La Churroteka and Lucha Sabina.

“I want to make sure that the best quality food is here, the best service, the friendliness,” Díaz said.

Díaz and his brother Pedro Díaz, run a bevy of Mexican food businesses in Sonoma County, including Taqueria El Favorito, also in Roseland; Agave Mexican Restaurant and Tequila Bar and Casa del Mole in Healdsburg; and El Gallo Negro in Windsor. The family also owns Agave Uptown in Oakland.

Each food truck at Mitote prepared one item Thursday to share with the partygoers in appreciation for the loyal supporters. “It’s been tremendous,” Díaz said.

While the food was plentiful, so were the libations, like agua de tuna, or prickly pear juice; wine poured by Latino winemakers, Chavez Family Cellars and Lemus Family Wines; and handcrafted cocktails at the park’s bar.

Prominent Latinos and government leaders were among the crowd, including Santa Rosa City Manager Maraskeshia Smith, Herman G. Hernandez of Los Cien and Sonoma County Supervisor Chris Coursey.

Mitote is part of a 7.4-acre county-owned parcel designated for the Tierra de Rosas mixed-use development that is yet to be completed.

It will include 75 affordable apartments, and 100 market-rate apartments, a civic center, retail shops and a public plaza.

Coursey, whose district includes Roseland, said Thursday there was an $18 million funding gap that needed to be filled before construction could start on the longtime county project.

On Friday morning, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors approved $7.7 million that would go toward the project, bringing the gap to about $10 million.

The project was approved by the county before Roseland was annexed into the city in 2017, he said.

“(Mitote is) a great asset to the community, but we’re not done,” he said.

Though there is more to come, Mitote has already become a thriving community hub.

“I’m really appreciative of the city, the county and all the local officials that have been supporting this project,” Díaz said. “They are helping me and they’re helping me to help others.”

You can reach Staff Writer Jennifer Sawhney at 707-521-5346 or jennifer.sawhney@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @sawhney_media.