By Jeanne Brook
Sitting in Zillie’s on a winter night, we turned at the door creak to see Eduardo Chavez Perez walk in.
Seeing Eduardo outside of his food truck on Ocracoke is a special occurrence, like brushing across a local celebrity—a shy one, though; he may be looking for a quiet glass of Prosecco after a busy day.
We sat together and he expressed his concerns about staffing for the upcoming season.
He had a dedicated full-time staff, most of them carrying other jobs, and struggled with weekend help.
The vacation rental weekend turnover days required many cleaning hands on deck, and weekends are their “Aquiles ankle.”
Before I could stop myself, I said maybe I could help.
His eyes lit up and as I would continue to learn, once you throw something like that out into Eduardo’s universe, there’s no taking it back.
I had not done food service for many years but agreed to help on weekends. Maybe it would help with my Spanish.
That first Saturday, Eduardo’s daughter Ana taught me the ropes of the window. She lived in Mexico City but came in the season to help “because of him.”
The love was apparent. But it was also evident that Eduardo missed his mother and son in Mexico. It helped that Ana would fill the truck with her beautiful voice, singing Mexican opera songs.
The fans kept it from being killer hot; the Latino songs played, sometimes Ana sang, and the orders flowed in. Eduardo kept everything calm in stressful times.
In quieter moments, he would talk about his childhood and working as a painter when he was young and his mother teaching him to cook.
Eduardo is proud of his spicy, flavorful food made with love and he wanted his customers to experience its authenticity.
His Tres Leches Hotcakes were time consuming and works of art, and he did not care to make them plain, if asked.
The chilaquiles bowl would change preparatory hands as the tortilla chips were fried then cooked in verde sauce; the steak was grilled, the cheese, avocado and cilantro were added, and then it was back to the grill for a fried egg.
The breakfast hot mess burritos may be the most missed.
One fall day he was on the finishing side and noted a regular had put in the order; he took extra care when scooping and placing the avocado and sliced radishes on her burrito bowl.
Things could get spicy in the truck, but Eduardo never lost his cool and worked to keep us all together as a team. God was with us in the truck, he said.
His faith never wavered and neither did the fun.
One morning I just missed his salsa dance as he and Ana were doing prep; he was holding full egg flats in each hand.
Thankfully Ana filmed him and put it on Facebook at www.facebook.com/reel/514632164519225
Late in the summer of 2024, a feral cat found its way from Lighthouse Road to Eduardo’s when the house he was getting fed from was going to be lifted. This cat came with the name Nacho! The staff fed him bits of fish in addition to wet food and treats. He had found his home.
In the fall when things slowed down, Eduardo put his building skills to use and built the nicest Ocracat house on the island.
Eduardo had cooked at other restaurants before starting his taco truck by the Variety Store in 2010.
When Karen Rhodes came on board in 2017, she was able to translate Eduardo’s characters and the Mexican culture into beautiful art that was painted on the truck and on merchandise such as stickers, shirts and hats.
In 2019 Hurricane Dorian destroyed the truck, and Eduardo almost gave up. With support from the community and a fundraiser by celebrity chef Vivian Howard, they were able to rebuild in their current location.
Eduardo had quickly become a staple of the community, sponsoring or helping at many various fundraisers and events over the years.
The most recent event was Día de los Muertos, where Ocracoke’s Mexican community invited everyone to honor loved ones and ancestors with an ofrenda (altar) of flowers, candles, photos and favorite foods.
Eduardo brought pan de muerto to the truck that day. He said the bread represents the cycle of life and death.
In October, he organized the sale of different Mexican food dishes to help the people in Hidalgo, Mexico, who had experienced devastating floods. It raised thousands of dollars.
Eduardo and Karen worked with local fishermen to get fresh drum, tuna, bluefish, scallops and shrimp.
One day, mid-week while working from home, I asked my husband to pick up an order of fish tacos.
When he arrived, our fish tacos were handed to him on a huge Mexican styled floral platter. That was pretty special.
Earlier this year, Eduardo announced that this 15th season would be the last.
The partners are ready for change. For new adventures. Eduardo would like to spend time with his mother and kids and family in Mexico. The news hit hard though, and all season there were expressions of sadness as well as appreciation.
With over 13,000 followers on his Facebook page, Eduardo posts engaging messages full of love for his customers and the love flows back.
In the final week he offered two days of enchiladas which had not been on the menu, and as he said, they got their butts kicked with orders.
Leading up to the last week being open, visitors with smiling faces told of how far they’d traveled for their last Eduardo’s meal.
One young man celebrating his birthday said all he wanted was to go to Ocracoke and eat Eduardo’s for each meal.
He and his partner traveled 13 hours round trip. Another man brought his worn Eduardo’s hat to the window and asked him to sign it.
So many stories like this were told, with folks coming to the window wanting to thank Eduardo personally for the wonderful meals and friendship over the years.
It was evident that Eduardo was grateful, touched and humbled by it all.
In the end I did pick up a bit of Spanish, made some new friends, and gained a great appreciation for the culture and ways of our southern neighbors and their incredible influence and contributions to our country. It was just a taste in the days of the life of Eduardo but enough to trust in our lifetime connection and remembrance of his gifts.
“Estas triste?” (Are you sad?) I asked Eduardo. “Si.”
He said he couldn’t sleep the night before the last day and went into the truck at 3 a.m.
He wanted some quiet time to reflect on the years, the customers that would come that day, the staff who had been his team. “I cried big tears.”
This community is so grateful for the chef that produced authentic Mexican meals full of heart for so many years, and so much more.
Let’s listen to what Eduardo says: “If we ever forget our joy, then we should worry.”
No decisions have been made about what’s next for Eduardo’s food truck.
The seafood hot mess burrito is my favorite dish in the world. Eduardo will be missed on Ocracoke. On a positive note, Eduardo personally gave my wife his shrimp ceviche recipe.
An absolute legend. We love you, Eduardo!
Fabulous tribute that brings back all our memories of Eduardo and his amazing food. We’ve owned our Ocracoke home for 40 years, and have enjoyed Eduardo’s amazing burritos, tacos, bowls and everything else for all 15 years of his food truck. Can’t even begin to express how much we’ll miss our shrimp tacos and burritos for lunch on the beach, and our breakfast seafood hot mess burritos! Enjoy your family time Eduardo!
This. This is what makes Ocracoke Ocracoke. The kindness, the sense of community and caring, the willingness to not only embrace, but learn from others from around the world. What a blessed place this island is to those who live here, and those of us who wish we could.
eduardo was a very generous person always had a meal there every time I went to Ocracoke. I’m crying.
My first time to Ocracoke was immediately after Christmas 2015. Eduardo’s sustained me, and satisfied my soul with his incredible food.Such kindness and love he served up with his food. Go in peace and safety.
My wife and I and my two grown sons tried this wonderful Eduardo’s Taco Truck back in 2020. My boys said it was the best taco’s they ever had. We will miss you all and thanks!
Best wishes for a wonderful person and his crew. Not only will his fantastic food be missed, but we will miss him. Eduardo, thank you for letting us share some memories, time, and space with you. It has been a fantastic journey. Vaya con Dios!
We are regular Ocracoke visitors and our first stop has been Eduardos since he opened. What a lovely man and we thank him for the wonderful food and all he has done for Ocracoke. We wish he and his wonderful family many happy years being together again. He will be sorely missed this July….
Wonderful tribute!
This is a wonderful read — from beginning to end. One of the best profiles I’ve seen and a beautiful testament to an Ocracoke fixture.
I will do miss his always optimistic attitude and the best Mexican food north of Corpus Christi, TX. Be safe my friend.
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