La Receta de mi Abuela, a Puerto Rican food truck business founded by 29-year-old Abdiel José Soto Reyes with his grandmother Nilda Salicrup, known as Nanita, opens its third location in Bayamón after openings in Caguas and Trujillo Alto. The venture began in late 2017 after hurricanes Irma and María, when Soto Reyes, then 19 with an arm cast from community cleanup brigades, and his grandmother cooked carne al caldero in San Juan and served sandwiches to workers receiving supplies at the Kennedy Avenue pier.
His first food cart in Caguas was destroyed by Hurricane Irma, and after studying engineering at the then Universidad del Turabo and working in Amgen’s Juncos kitchen, one of the Caribbean’s largest, he left school to become an entrepreneur. In 2020 he opened a food truck on PR-156 in Caguas, then expanded to Trujillo Alto in 2025.
Known for its caldero-style bistec, smash burgers and 'Papas Abuela' made with fresh-cut potatoes and house-baked bread, the business credits Nanita’s slow-cooking techniques. Soto Reyes says running a business in Puerto Rico 'is for the brave' and shares what he has learned with industry colleagues.