Disclaimer: The quotes in the following article have been translated from Spanish to English.
Roger’s Tacos, a family-owned pop-up restaurant in Isla Vista, has been prohibited by the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department from continuing to hold public fundraising events due to policies that prohibit the business from preparing food in one location and selling it elsewhere.
Roger’s Tacos, a family-owned pop-up restaurant in I.V., has been prohibited by the SBC Public Health Department from holding public fundraising events. Nexus file photo
Roger’s Tacos, owned and operated by Rogelio Ines Jiménez, typically collaborates with UC Santa Barbara student groups to organize pop-up fundraising events several times a month at various locations around Isla Vista. Jiménez is looking into solutions to continue bringing Roger’s Tacos to I.V.
The business began in 2019 and has become a popular spot where students line up to order a variety of Mexican dishes, including tacos, quesadillas, mulitas and fresas con crema.
“Everything started at a graduation celebration for someone I knew. At that time, I worked in Los Angeles at a taco stand — a food truck,” Jiménez said. “I asked for permission at my job so I could make tacos for the person who was graduating that year.”
After the celebration, Jiménez had a lot of leftover meat and brought it to the home of an acquaintance in I.V., where he was able to sell the rest to community members.
“They gave me permission to offer the tacos to people because I didn’t want to go back with all the meat,” Jiménez said. “A young woman asked me if it was okay to post it on Facebook or Instagram so people could come. I said yes.”
Afterward, Jiménez was contacted by the young woman to return the following week, during which everything he brought sold out again. After seeing how popular his food was with community members, he was motivated to continue.
“When we tried to return later, the pandemic had started, and the students noticed that the girl who had graduated was no longer there,” Jiménez said. “It was on Del Playa, in one of the first or second houses. Someone told me, ‘You can come and sell here once a week.’ I started going, and basically, everything we brought would sell. We did that about once a week.”
Jiménez’s pop-ups soon became a full-fledged family business. He credits UCSB students with helping him set up shop by creating social media accounts, designing a logo, finding student organizations to collaborate with and even naming the business.
“They asked what I wanted to name the business. At that time, we were three friends, but that didn’t work out either,” Jiménez said. “They asked what my name was, and I said Rogelio. They said, ‘That’s Roger in English.’ So we named it Roger’s Tacos, and it worked perfectly.”
Later on, an inspector from the Santa Barbara County (SBC) Public Health Department visited one of the business’s pop-up events. The inspector assisted Jiménez in obtaining certificates, as well as registering Roger’s Tacos properly, paying sales taxes and finding a kitchen to legally prepare food.
In September 2025, the kitchen where Roger’s Tacos prepared its food changed ownership, leaving the business without a kitchen. Afterward, Jiménez had to search for a new kitchen, but had difficulty doing so.
“It’s hard to find a kitchen because I don’t use it every day,” Jiménez said. “The inspection issue happened in mid-September. They renewed my permit only for three months — September through December.”
Eventually, when Jiménez went to renew the business’s permits again, he was informed by the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department that cooking in one place and selling it elsewhere is no longer allowed. The Daily Nexus was unable to confirm the specific policies applicable to the situation.
Since Jiménez announced this update on social media, he said he has received numerous messages from customers who hope to see Roger’s Tacos return to I.V.
“I receive these messages daily, they make me sad, but I keep looking for ways to move forward,” Jiménez said.
The solutions that were presented to Jiménez — including purchasing a food truck and obtaining a relevant permit — were not financially sustainable due to the business being a part-time venture for him.
However, Jiménez expressed hope for the future of his business and aims to continue to bring Roger’s Tacos to I.V. He is currently in talks with the Isla Vista Community Center, where he plans to host private pop-up events twice a month.
“I love what I do. I love seeing students come together. This is not just a business, it’s something I do with love for the community,” Jiménez said. “I am grateful for the support I received during the pandemic, and I want to thank all the students for their support. I will find a way to continue doing this.”
A version of this article appeared on p. 3 of the Jan. 15 print edition of the Daily Nexus.
