Established in 1972, La Princesita Tortilleria is a small, family owned and operated tortilla company based in East Los Angeles and serving the Southern California region. We specialize in making a wide range of fresh corn and flour tortilla products.

Background

In the early 1970’s, at the age of 18, Francisco “Pancho” Ramirez (1954-2019), immigrated to the United States from Cuernavaca, Mexico. In Mexico, Pancho was a street vendor selling barbacoa de chivo. When he arrived in the Untied States, he worked with his brother’s struggling Tortilleria – “La Princessa” – located on the corner of Brooklyn Avenue and Alma Street. Francisco would eventually take over the Tortilleria and rename it La Princesita Tortilleria. In the years that followed Pancho became a pioneer in East Los Angeles tortilla making.

Pancho was committed to quality tortillas made the same way our ancestors made corn tortillas – with real corn ground between volcanic stones. Today, over fifty years later, we still make our corn tortilla fresh daily using real corn. In the beginning, Pancho sold his fresh tortillas to the local community. He gradually added other items like milk, eggs and fresh produce. In the 1980’s he added a full service carniceria and began producing flour tortillas.

From a young age all five of Francisco’s children worked for the company. Running the company has always been a family affair and a labor of love. In 2019, Francisco Ramirez died of a heart attack. Today, Francisco’s eldest daughter, Monica Ramirez, is the President of La Princesita. And his youngest son, Edward Ramirez, runs corn tortilla production and the tiendita on the corner of Alma and Cesar Chavez. Monica and Edward carry on dad’s legacy with the same work ethic and commitment to quality that their father instilled in them from a young age.

Vision

Our vision is to preserve and honor our founder Francisco Ramirez’s legacy by continuing to produce corn and flour tortilla products at price points affordable to our communities, and with a quality desired by five-star chefs.

Mission

We are committed to sustainably growing our family business by prioritizing our people, our products, and our community.
       

1. People - Our employees, customers and suppliers. We hire locally and strive to provide a safe and enjoyable work environment. We feed our families by feeding our communities. Without our customers we wouldn’t be able to feed our families.
   
   
2. Products - We are committed to providing the highest quality products.
   


3. Community – We support our local communities through strategic investments and participation is cultural affairs.

Core Values

1. Integrity and Ethics
2. Teamwork
3. Customer Service
4. Community and Culture

Our Scholarship Program

In 2021,  La Princesita established a scholarship program to award academic scholarships to employees and their children currently attending middle school, high school or college. Applicants are required to submit an application form and a personal statement. The scholarship committee – comprised of the company’s board of directors –ranks the applicants based on hardships overcome, career goals and academic performance. The company also established the “Pancho Scholarship” in honor of their late founder, Francisco “Pancho” Ramirez. The Pancho Scholarship is reserved for a current employee pursuing a higher education. The scholarship funds are unrestricted and can be used for school supplies, living expenses or tuition. Since the start of the scholarship program the Company has awarded nearly $20,000 in scholarship funds to its employees and their families.