New tortillería on 23rd Street turns a parking lot into Richmond’s warmest food ritual

Rolling up to Tortillerias La Numero Uno’s food trailer on 23rd Street feels like walking into a quiet celebration that the whole neighborhood agreed on without actually saying anything.

The parking lot hums with that familiar hopefulness: people drifting in from the sidewalk, from cars, from down the block, phones half-raised because they know what’s coming.

The trailer keeps a steady glow, warm air billowing out with the scent of fresh masa. You get close, and the order taker is already working the line with that confident grace that comes from knowing exactly what people need.

She leans out of the small service window with her hand full of steaming tortillas, says something quick in Spanish. The crowd hesitates for a breath, unsure if this is an invitation or a test, then one by one we each reach forward and take a tortilla from her hand. It’s warm enough to feel like a small act of trust.

Everyone does the same thing: smear it with that oily red chile salsa they keep near the front, roll it tight, take a bite. We do the same. It’s a parking lot communion. No instructions, no ceremony, just a shared moment of people quietly falling in love with a tortilla. Some grab water bottles.

Did you get one? They’re so good. Did you try the salsa? Yes. Yes.

It mirrors all those social media clips bouncing around lately. Someone steps from the truck holding a fresh stack, peels off the top tortilla, adds cheese, paints on a line of salsa, folds it one-handed, and takes that slow, grateful first bite. No fancy editing. Just food, warmth, and relief. You watch one of those videos and suddenly your whole afternoon shifts.

The crew inside the truck moves fast, with serious expressions like they mean it. There is a tortilla machine that is heavily featured on Tortilleria’s social media, along with large windows where you can watch like "El Machino" at Chevy’s when you were a kid.

@elaztecafoodie Tortillerias La Numero Uno 845 23rd Street Richmond CA #food #explore #fyp ♬ Perlas Negras - Natanael Cano & Gabito Ballesteros

The tortillas are sold by the pound, freshly made and puffy, from one pound for $3 to 30 pounds for $90. Tortillerias La Numero Uno also sells a variety of cheeses that they slice and offer for sampling. We opted for the Queso Fresco and a container of that smoky, herby, and oily salsa.

Wedges of cheese in plastic bags and salsa containers disappear into bags like contraband for later happiness. The line grows, but nobody complains. There’s a shared understanding that some things are worth slowing down for. 

Tortillerias La Numero Uno is new to 23rd Street, having only celebrated its official opening in October. Apparently, we missed the Free Carnitas for the kickoff.

Sure, Yelp only has a handful of five-star reviews so far, but the real reviews are happening right here in line. People sitting in cars, tearing open bags, folding tortillas still steaming, smiling like they’ve just stumbled back into a memory they didn’t realize they were missing.

Tortillería isn’t trying to reinvent anything. It’s just offering what feels like a small, steady kindness to anyone who shows up. A warm tortilla, a dab of cheese, a streak of salsa, a moment that anchors you even on the messy days. Sometimes that’s all a place needs to matter.

There are two more Tortillerias La Numero Unos, one in Watsonville and another in Ceres, which is near Modesto.

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