ROCHELLE — Local food truck vendor No Prep Tacos will be opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant in March just outside Rochelle at 7034 S. Klondike Road, the former site of The Kitchen Table. 

No Prep Tacos is owned by longtime Rochelle residents and brothers Marco and Jesus Penaran. The business got started in 2023 by selling tacos at car race meets in the region and No Prep Tacos has been regularly serving Mexican food locally for the past year. 

“We're car enthusiasts and we'd go out to Chicago or the suburbs and go racing,” Jesus Penaran said. “We met a lot of people. We would always want a late night snack and nothing was open. We would always say we should bring tacos and sell them out the back of the truck. In 2023 a friend asked us if we wanted to sell tacos at an event at a racetrack in Indiana. We'd never done anything like that before. We'd just cooked for ourselves. There weren't going to be any concession stands. We decided to do it. We sold out within the first three hours and we just saw something we could do. It ended up being so much more than just a side job. It ended up being our full-time job and we ended up here.”

Upon buying their food trailer, the Penarans were looking for a commissary kitchen and found The Kitchen Table, the donation and volunteer-based eatery/community pay-what-you-can café. They came to an agreement with the organization’s founder, Carolyn Brown, to cook there and served one meal a month at the location for The Kitchen Table.

Late last year, Brown and the organization opted to sell the building due to a shortage of resources and volunteers, and overwhelming need. The Kitchen Table will continue as a nonprofit in a reimagined form. The building was purchased by the Penarans for a No Prep Tacos restaurant location. Their aim is to open in mid-to-late March. 

“It's going to be a restaurant where people can come and dine in and enjoy the food instead of waiting in line at the food trailer and having to take it home,” Marco Penaran said. “We'll have some additional items on the menu on top of what we serve from the food trailer. We're going to do some work inside before we open.”

Along with selling locally and at race tracks with its food trailer and its planned restaurant, No Prep Tacos also offers catering for private parties and events. The Penarans have seen their business grow quickly after it started out selling under a canopy. 

The support from the Rochelle community has been exciting for Marco and Jesus Penaran. 

“We've received a lot of support from Rochelle,” Jesus Penaran said. “There's other Mexican restaurants in town, so we didn't know what to expect. Every time we've opened up shop in town, we've always gotten good support from the people. And it's repeat customers, sometimes during the same week.”

Marco Penaran said those who haven’t tried No Prep Tacos before can expect a quick, authentic, consistent bite to eat. The Penarans’ father helps with the seasoning and their mother makes fresh tortillas and has since the beginning of No Prep Tacos. 

The Penarans never envisioned themselves opening a restaurant. Before No Prep Tacos, Marco Penaran worked in maintenance and went to school for graphics. Jesus Penaran never thought he’d own a property like 7034 S. Klondike Road, which has history as a community cornerstone as The Kitchen Table and also includes The Rowe Pavilion, which was funded by TV’s Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs fame after a visit to The Kitchen Table. 

Marco Penaran said he’s excited to open the restaurant up for customers and to try some new menu items. No Prep Tacos is a family affair for the Penarans. 

“It's cool to do this with my brother,” Jesus Penaran said. “We get to see each other every day. We disagree on some things, but at the end of the day we have to have a solution that works for both of us. Two heads think more than one can. Our mom and dad are in our corner too and they give us encouragement and support.”