LITTLE VILLAGE — The family behind the first tortilla factory in Little Village, the long-shuttered Tortilleria Del Rey, is back in business under the name Masa Uno, Inc.
Masa Uno opened a corner shop at 2501 S. Central Park last summer after launching the company in Berwyn two years ago.
President and co-owner, Yolanda Carreon, worked in the assembly lines of the tortilla business since she was a girl, and opening a new factory was natural for her after Del Rey closed in 2011.
“Everyone comes in and asks, aren’t you related to Del Rey? Because this looks like their logo. Well, my 89-year-old mother was the owner,” she said.
Her brothers maintain the old building on 2701 S. Trumbull and her mother sold the Pilsen factory at 1023 W. 18th St.
Her son, Christopher Lopez, and his wife manage the new Masa Uno storefront. He designed the packaging but kept some original Del Rey elements like the crown and color scheme to retain old clientele while attract new ones.
[DNAinfo/Jackie Serrato]
The 10-employee operation honors the family recipes for masa and tortillas, which trace back to the Mexican state of Michoacan. They also stock chips, tostadas, squared tortillas for flautas, corn husks, buñuelos, nachos with cheese, and dry chiles.
“All of our corn is grown in the state of Illinois. We cook our own corn, we grind our own corn, we make our own dough,” Carreon said.
Masa Uno chips have sold “like hotcakes” at Tony’s Finer Foods and will soon debut in Pete’s Fresh Market.
The Little Village location gets fresh product delivered daily from the Berwyn tortilleria. The store includes a seating area for the customers with a makeshift altar for the Virgin of Guadalupe.
The tortillas are $1 for four dozen.
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