01
THE STORY
A RESTAURANT CAN CLOSE.
WHAT IT BUILT DOES NOT DISAPPEAR.
“Before barbering, I built City Tamale in the Bronx—from an idea into a neighborhood business. I learned to cook beside my mother, served New Yorkers for years and saw how food could make a stranger feel seen.”— Isrrael Veliz, founder
01 / ORIGIN
Before the storefront, there was a mother, a son and a lesson.
Isrrael was born in the United States and spent a decade growing up in Puebla, where tamales marked breakfasts, holidays, travel and family gatherings. He returned to New York alone at fifteen, worked across the restaurant industry and later studied business at Baruch College.
A marketing assignment became a real product. His mother helped him learn the recipes; together they made tamales in an apartment kitchen near Yankee Stadium. In 2016, the idea found a permanent home in the industrial heart of Hunts Point.
Read the early story in Gothamist
