RALEIGH, N.C. — Popular food truck, Gym Tacos has officially opened its first storefont on Hillsborough Street.

But the Mexican restaurant is doing a lot more than serving up delicious food, it's also helping register Latin American voters.

Gym Tacos has been parked in front of a Raleigh gas station for the past three years. The owners signed a lease for their brick-and-mortar location two years ago. Due to delays from the pandemic, they have only just been able to open it.

"People have been asking for a long time [for us] to open up a restaurant and finally we do. Finally, we are here," said co-owner Uriel Ramero. "People have been excited.”

Ramero and three others own the restaurant together. They all grew up in the same hometown near Puebla in Mexico. They love sharing their Hispanic culture and food with others.

"Everything you get ... everything is going to be good," Ramero said.

They're expanding their reach even deeper into the community. At their grand opening Monday, they had nonprofit El Pueblo greeting guests outside and helping register more Latin-American voters. 

According to the North Carolina Board of Elections, as of January, just over 240,000 Latinos were registered to vote. There are still thousands who haven't.

“We have been doing a lot of preparation for our get out the vote effort this year," said El Pueblo Communications Manager Verónica Aguilar. "We really want to make sure that the Latinx voice is heard in the polls this year.”

Aguilar is hoping to make Gym Tacos a semi-permanent location for them to do more advocacy work.

Even though this storefront is now open, Gym Tacos owners say they will still keep their food truck up and running. The new location on Hillsborough street will be open seven days a week.