TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Raul Leyva, known to many customers as El Bochas, started his food business selling meals from the trunk of his car. Today, he owns three food businesses in the Tucson area and is looking toward potential expansion beyond Arizona.
Leyva, originally from Sonora, Mexico, built his business one customer at a time, selling food to people at tire shops, barbershops and homes where customers placed delivery orders.
“We started selling to people at tire shops, barber shops and even to people who ordered from home we did deliveries,” Leyva said.
One of the first dishes he made was ceviche served in a coconut.
That early offering helped launch his journey into the food business, which eventually grew from a car trunk into a food truck and, later, brick-and-mortar restaurants.
“The biggest challenge was not even having a food truck and now, well, I have a restaurant,” Leyva said.
His first food truck operated on Tucson’s south side before moving to Highway 86 on the west side.
As the business grew, Leyva expanded into a restaurant under the El Bochas name and later added El Tacoson, another local food business.
Leyva said his wife has played an important role in the company’s growth, supporting him throughout the process.
“I really started to take off and a big thanks to wife who is my biggest supporter,” he said.
The restaurants serve a variety of dishes, including seafood towers, known as delicias, steaming molcajetes and aguachile. The menu reflects the seafood-focused offerings that helped build the business’s following.
For Leyva, maintaining that customer support is important as he considers what comes next.
“This doesn't stop here, I want to continue to grow,” he said.
Although no expansion plans outside Arizona have been confirmed, Leyva said he is considering possibilities in other states, including California.
Los Angeles is among the cities he may explore as he looks for opportunities to grow the business.
Leyva acknowledges that expanding into new markets would be a significant challenge, but he remains focused on the future.
What began with selling food from the back of a car has grown into three businesses — and Leyva says he is not finished yet.
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