Four years ago, Cristina Everett and her family brought a taste of Ensenada, a coastal city in Baja California, to East Austin. Their food truck, Ensenada ATX, opened in June 2022, serving up Baja-style seafood tacos the family grew up eating.
Everett spoke with host Mando Rayo in a recent episode of Tacos of Texas about the traditions behind Ensenada’s seafood cuisine, the family’s entrepreneurial roots, and the challenges of growing a business in Austin.
Bringing Ensenada to Austin
“We brought exactly what you would find in Ensenada to Austin,” Everett said.
Born and raised in Ensenada, Everett grew up surrounded by the city’s seafood and street food culture.
“They claim that the birthplace of the fish taco is in Ensenada,” Everett said. “We have all the fresh seafood you can think of, the fish tacos, you’ll find them everywhere. … The culture in Ensenada is about street food.”
The family also draws inspiration from Ensenada’s Mercado Negro, a well-known seafood market.
“Our aprons at Ensenada are yellow because the people who sell you the fish in Ensenada are always wearing the yellow aprons,” Everett said. “We wanted to honor that, you know, and bring it fully to Austin.”
3 generations of women behind Ensenada ATX
The idea for Ensenada ATX began when Cristina Everett’s sister, Stephanie Everett Martin, moved to Austin.
“When she moved out here, she was like, ‘Mom, there’s like no tacos,'” Cristina said. Stephanie encouraged their mother, Liz Everett, to bring those flavors to Texas and open a food truck.
Cristina, who had previously operated food trucks in San Diego, joined the effort. The result is a business built on three generations of women.
“My mom, my sister and myself and Christelle, my daughter, being the third generation,” she said.
Cristina credits her mother for inspiring her family’s work ethic.
“My mom has been a hustler ever since I have memory,” she said. “Even when we were in school, she would sell cheesecakes, you know, and she was always doing things to fund the school stuff.”
Cristina’s mom has influenced her daughter Christelle, too.
“My mom was frying the fish and Christelle was cleaning tables, you know, and like picking up plates and stuff like that. And then our AC went off,” she said. “My mom’s like … girls if we can do this we can do anything.”
The moment sparked Christelle’s entrepreneurial spirit.
“It was crazy,” Cristina said. “And then that’s when Christelle also was like, ‘I want to make brownies, Nana, you don’t have desserts, you know?’ It just all came together.”
From taco truck to store shelves
The flavors of Ensenada extend beyond the truck.
In 2023, Cristina founded Ensenada Salsas, bringing her salsa macha, which has long been a staple of Ensenada’s menu into retail stores. She described the oil-based Mexican condiment as “the Mexican version of the Asian chili oil.”
Cristina was nervous to pitch her salsa to stores, but her daughter encouraged her to follow through and be brave.
“She’s like, mom, you taught me how to be brave. Now you go in there and you do it, or do you want me to go in there?” Cristina said. “I’m like, no, I’m going to go. And literally, yes, that store took my salsa.”
Building on family values
Building a food business also means managing long hours, unexpected setbacks and the pressure to keep moving forward. Cristina said the work requires patience, research and a willingness to learn from mistakes. She returns to the guiding principles that shape how her family treats its customers: consistency and kindness.
“It’s just about showing up every day, doing things right, treating people the way you want to be treated, because that will leave a mark,” she said.
For anyone curious to try Baja-style seafood in Austin, Cristina has a straightforward invitation: “They don’t have to pay an expensive ticket to get to Baja,” she said.” They can just have Baja right here.”