{"id":280694,"date":"2026-04-22T19:18:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T19:18:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/280694\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T19:18:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T19:18:13","slug":"taco-owner-found-after-hospitalization-floats-fundraiser","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/280694\/","title":{"rendered":"Taco owner found after hospitalization, floats fundraiser"},"content":{"rendered":"

The taco truck and restaurant owner who went missing earlier this week<\/a> in Fresno has surfaced \u2013 and says he was in the hospital for six days.<\/p>\n

Armando Arias, Jr., owner of Tacos El Cabezon<\/a>, said in an Instagram story Tuesday evening that he was in the hospital, but did not say why. Police had confirmed Arias had been found safe Monday, but no additional details were shared.<\/p>\n

The statement<\/a> on the cabezontacos559 page said: \u201cThank you to everyone who reached out and showed concern for me. I truly appreciate it. I was hospitalized at Fresno Community since last Wednesday, but by the grace of God I was released today. I\u2019m sorry if anyone thought I was missing \u2013 I wasn\u2019t. I just needed some time to recover.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo those who spoke good about me and even those who spoke bad, I still send love to you all. God bless everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arias made headlines and caused a social media firestorm earlier this week, when Fresno Police confirmed he was the subject of a missing-persons report. His Fulton Street restaurant has been closed for several days. A trail of financial issues<\/a> surfaced in the wake of the news, including a $507,000 court judgment against him and unpaid rent at two of his locations.<\/p>\n

Arias did not immediately return messages seeking comment via his cell phone or Instagram account Wednesday. Attempts to reach Arias on Monday and Tuesday were unsuccessful as well.<\/p>\n

\"Armando Armando Arias Jr. is interviewed outside his food truck Tacos El Cabezon, parked at Shaw and Maroa avenues Wednesday, Sept 24, 2025 in Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com Fundraising?<\/p>\n

Also Wednesday, the Tacos El Cabezon Instagram account had a link to a GoFundMe fundraising account. As of 10 a.m., it went to a \u201cfundraiser not found\u201d page.<\/p>\n

But images of it online before it was no longer active show it had raised $2,400.<\/p>\n

The description includes a message, presumably from Arias, saying that he had invested $25,000 of his own money into his popular taco trailer parked at Maroa and Shaw avenues two days before receiving a cease-and-desist letter from the County of Fresno.<\/p>\n

Fresno County ordered him to stop doing business at the location Feb. 13 because he was not operating with the proper permit that included a traffic study of the area, according to a county representative.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we lost our Shaw & Maroa location, our sales dropped dramatically. At that point we were left with only our restaurant, but it took several weeks before we could open. During that time, our food trailer alone wasn\u2019t generating enough income for us to get by,\u201d the post said.<\/p>\n

It continued: \u201cRecently, I was also hospitalized for six days, and during that time we had to close, which set us back even more.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very humbling \u2013 and honestly a little embarrassing \u2013 for me to share this. But I believe in being real with the community that has supported us from the beginning,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

\"This This Instagram story ran on Tacos El Cabezon Instagram page late Tuesday, April 21. Screenshot of Instagram story \"Armando Armando Arias Jr. is interviewed outside his food truck Tacos El Cabezon, parked at Shaw and Maroa avenues Wednesday, Sept 24, 2025 in Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com \"Customers Customers stand in line to order from Tacos El Cabezon at Shaw and Maroa avenues Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025 in Fresno. ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com <\/p>\n

This story was originally published April 22, 2026 at 10:44 AM.<\/p>\n

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Bethany Clough<\/a><\/p>\n

The Fresno Bee<\/p>\n

Bethany Clough covers restaurants and retail for The Fresno Bee. A reporter for more than 20 years, she now works to answer readers\u2019 questions about business openings, closings and other business news. She has a degree in journalism from Syracuse University and her last name is pronounced Cluff.\n <\/p>\n