About

My decision was made, but in the spirit of democracy I put it up for a vote and the empleyados backed “Tres Picosos.” We added a couple of letters to our logo in 2008 and here we are.

In 2009 Tres Picosos participated in Core-Mark’s annual Grab Heat ‘N Eat program and gained national distribution to all their warehouses. McLane Company also began more widespread distribution of Tres Picosos at the same time. My sombrero-wearing and musica-latina-playing at trade shows was paying off. Maverik stores out of Salt Lake City was a tremendous retail customer which really knows foodservice well. At “adventure’s first stop,” the corporate chef got Maverik’s bakery managers behind the hot foil-wrapped burrito program. Now they make their own burritos at store level! We are glad to continue to make their Hatch Green Chile Sauce, and I applaud their achievements in foodservice.

We continued to grow Tres Picosos by gaining distributor relationships, and in January 2011 we discontinued local deliveries altogether. Instead, we’d pack up frozen burritos and ship pallets to distributors who could do the work of getting product to retailers a lot better than we could. We had outgrown our production abilities – my father-in-law was aging, and Shultz joined Quiznos full time to sell franchises to the non-traditional (aka convenience) marketplace. Thus I entered into my first relationship with a contract manufacturer in 2010, and I learned a lot. I’ve always been good with a euphemism.

In a short amount of time I decided I only wanted to produce Tres Picosos and forego the other product lines. (Actually, the sushi line is my sentimental favorite and I still cater sushi parties. It’s just like rolling burritos.) So I purchased the Tres Picosos brand from my family’s company in 2011 and formed Tres Picosos LLC, with outsourced manufacturing. It’s only recently that I’ve applied for Women-Owned-Business status, and that opens up more opportunities with companies looking for vendors with that cool designation! 

McLane Company came on board nationally in 2011 to serve our friends at Flying J and Pilot Travel Centers. In late 2012 we had two more changes: my dear father-in-law Gus passed away, and Shultz furthered his career by joining Einstein Noah Bagel to develop franchises in non-traditional channels. In January 2013 Tres Picosos began a distribution arrangement with DOT Foods which is even better able to serve distributor customers on a national level.

I’d always had the idea to make the great ingredients from our burritos available to foodservice operators who want to use the components in their own menu items. But one of our sayings around the office is “WE HAVE WAY MORE IDEAS THAN WE COULD POSSIBLY EXECUTE!” So it had to remain an idea until Shultz was ready and available in 2015. We incorporated Naughty Chile Taqueria as a licensed concept for retailers to operate a made-to-order taco and burrito bar in their locations. With Shultz’s franchise sales experience in the non-traditional channel, and my experience with the production and sales of Mexican burritos, we were on a roll (pun intended.)  

When presented with the first concept for the logo, I noticed the two intertwined peppers were vertical. I thought, if they’re so “naughty” they ought to be lying down! And since the Naughty Chile Taqueria logo doesn’t have a sombrero in it, I did my first trade show without wearing mine. I hated every minute of it, so that was the one and only time you’ll see me without it. 

Today Naughty Chile Taqueria has close to 50 retail locations, and many other locations use our “Quickie Burrito Mixes” to make burritos on site, commissary style. 

In 2018 I decided that I needed more space in my home office, so I redecorated the no man’s land of our “FROG” which in real estate lingo means “Family Room Over Garage.” My mother recommended a tranquil blue and aqua décor to offset the loco and hectic schedule of most work days, but I thought a bright and sunny yellow would be more appropriate, paired with leopard print carpet!

With the amount of sales calls increasing, in 2019 we partnered with a food brokerage firm for sales representation nationally. Advantage Solutions is a valued partner and plus it’s fun to work with them. Mexican food makes everyone happy, but I’m still the only one to wear the sombrero. 

In the 2020 quarantine era of COVID, we hunkered down at our home office(s) and enjoyed not traveling to trade shows. Instead we increased print and online advertising in our market and we love how it’s working. Some huge bright spots: a national travel plaza group rolled out Tres Picosos burritos to their travel plazas, and Core-Mark has several flavors in their Fresh Food Fast program!

Now, instead of all these youngsters at home, I have one in college and two graduated.

Even with their real jobs, they still help me out periodically with shipping samples, picking up supplies, and even some accounting and administrative duties. I had strong opinions regarding their choice of college major: “For my business, I need a food scientist so someone has to major in microbiology; I need a chief financial officer so someone has to major in finance; and every company needs a good contract attorney so someone has to major in business and get an advanced degree in law. Work it out amongst yourselves.” It hasn’t worked so far – but one more kid to go! 

The start of 2024 brings fantastic opportunities for our Picosos. We’re looking to expand into other markets and other Mexican product lines, and I’m keeping some trademarks in my back pocket. Our great relationships with our retailers, distributors, brokers and vendors bring great joy. 

I realize this might make it all sound easy, and it’s not. It’s business. But it’s really fun. If you see a smiling middle-aged gringa lady in a sombrero in an airport, it’s probably me. Please introduce yourself and say “hola.”

…as a daily delivered, hot, foil-wrapped burrito. Breakfast flavors rocked from the start, and we were serving about 125 convenience stores and coffee shops along the Front Range. (For you Yankees and Southerners, that means a lot of miles up and down the Eastern side of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains.) My mother Liz (former grade school principal, everything in order) even joined us to help keep track of customers, and she was really popular as “la abuelita.” The daily delivery, hot product, invoice reconciling, and so many miles and more customers and increasing gas prices took their toll. ¡Dios Mio! We had to use resources more wisely, and in 2008 we eliminated daily delivery and went to weekly deliveries. My own workweek was expanding exponentially as burrito sales grew, and remember, I have these three niños a casa.

In the production room, I only was allowed to label or box burritos. (Still true today.) We’ve always had a Mexican head chef. Though never verbalized in neither English nor Spanish, empleados thought the jefa (boss lady) was too despacio (slow) to do the real work of scooping fillings and rolling tortillas. It was unquestionable that I’d attempt to griddle eggs or make a batch of hot green chile. It’s best to leave that to the professionals.

Meanwhile, I was thinking about the literal translation of “Tres Picos,” which is “three peaks” like a mountaintop or “three beaks” like a bird. The spicy Mexican tomato and onion salsa is called “Pico de Gallo” which literally means “beak of the rooster.” You know how phrases and idioms morph over time: “pico” had come to mean “spicy” or “hot” in the Spanish language of Mexico. I wanted to modify our name to “Tres Picosos” for a more literal translation and personification of our logo: “Three Hotties.” Plus, I could obtain a trademark for that name.

On my way to the plant one morning, I was behind a cute bright blue pickup driven by a pretty Hispanic woman.