A couple of years after the pandemic, the Castro family decided to take a leap of faith and open a small Mexican restaurant in an unassuming corner on Vineland Avenue near a smoke shop and a used car dealership in North Hollywood.

Gema and José Castro decided to focus on birria and used a recipe passed down from Jose’s mother for their tacos. Gema left her job at Trader Joe’s while their adult son Anthony Castro quit his job at a biotech company to join his parents and help run the tiny five-table spot they named Birrieria Familia Castro.

Today that leap of faith has paid off because Yelp has just named their family restaurant as the number one of the Top 100 Taco Spots in the United States for 2025.

“This is such an incredible honor. I think people like our food because it’s authenti

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