Lucharitos on the North Fork is a champion of tasty Mexican food
Kidsday reporter Gavin Sage, of Greenport Elementary School, and Lucharitos owners Marc LaMaina, left, and Kevin Sage, Gavin's father. Credit: Sage family
Lucharitos wears the championship belt of North Fork taco shops.
It all started when Marc LaMaina and Kevin Sage dreamed of opening a food establishment. Marc decided to make a cupcake shop called Butta Cakes. Due to superstorm Sandy, the cupcake shop was forced to close.
But Marc and Kevin had something in the back of their minds. When they graduated from high school, they talked about opening a taco shop. As you can see, they made their dream come true. Lucharitos opened up and is a huge success!
In fact, Lucharitos opened in Greenport in April 2012, and then they expanded to a second location in Aquebogue. That restaurant is Little Lucharitos and they opened that in 2017, and they are opening a third location in Center Moriches. Marc told me that things have been going so well, they are in discussions to franchise their restaurant.
After superstorm Sandy, Marc and Kevin started the taco shop based onMexican-American food with a wrestling theme. They always loved wrestling when they were kids, and still love it. The restaurant is a place where everybody can be a kid again. They wanted to open up a place that was fun and mixed with their love of Mexican food. Lucharitos got its name because when Marc’s first son was born, he was sick. He called his son his “Little Fighter.” Lucharitos loosely translates to little fighter.
It was very easy to set up an interview with Marc, the owner, and Kevin, the general manager of Lucharitos. Kevin is actually mi padre, which means “my father” in Spanish.
I wanted to know what food they would recommend for people to order if they’ve never tried Mexican-style food. My dad said everyone loves nachos! You have chips drenched in cheese and choice of any meat possible. Marc added that tacos are the best sellers, of course. People can mix and match whatever they want. He said their guacamole is our best around. In the busiest summer season, they can go through 10 cases of avocados per day.
They also told me that their guacamole is ordered the most, so I wanted to know if they ever shared that recipe. Marc said, “All of our recipes are secret — only Kevin, staff and myself know what the secret ingredients are.”
Finally, I asked them to describe Lucharitos in three words. Here is what they said: Fun, family and community. Find out more about these great places at lucharitos.com.
Amy Gammon and Karen Gessner’s sixth-grade class, Greenport Elementary School
