EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — A mother of six, who fell in love with making fish tacos, opened up a restaurant in 2023 in East El Paso that gives the community a taste of Los Angeles.
Nadine Ochoa, mother, wife and owner of Dia De Los Pescados, was born and raised in LA and moved to El Paso in 2015.
Back in LA, Ochoa fell in love with the fish tacos scene and began to create her own fish tacos after a favorite spot of hers closed.
“There were a lot of fish tacos spots, shrimp tacos spots, and it was just one of my favorite foods,” Ochoa said.
Ochoa and her husband then moved to El Paso as her husband already had family here, and it provided a better environment for her children.
“The environment was something I didn’t want my kids to grow up in (in LA). It was filled with a lot of drugs and violence, and I needed to get away from that. We had come here (El Paso) a few times in the past to visit family, and I liked it. It seemed like a really calm and peaceful place to raise my family,” Ochoa said.
After moving to El Paso, Ochoa continued to make her fish tacos at home, where they became popular fast.
“Before you knew it, there were like 40 people coming to my house to eat fish tacos all the time, and I thought, ‘Maybe we should start something,'” Ochoa said.
After Ochoa’s fish tacos became incredibly popular within her circle of friends and family, she felt confident enough to quit her job and invest in a food truck in 2017.
“I just tried to do things that I knew how to make well, and I created a menu out of that, and if I didn’t know how to do it, I would just do my research and play around with it,” Ochoa said.
The food truck ended up doing extremely well, and Ochoa added a second food truck in 2021.
In 2023, Ochoa felt confident enough to open a brick-and-mortar restaurant in East El Paso after both food trucks brought in major success.
Ochoa says the restaurant initially started out strong, but was then affected due to construction in the area.
“We started off strong. We were doing so great, and then the construction happened, and it kind of set us back a little bit. We got momentum going again, and then this year, they popped up with some more construction, but it’s fine. It’s part of it. It just finished, so we’re building back up again,” Ochoa said.
Ochoa says her six children all helped start the business, and they continue to help out even though they’ve started their own careers.
Ochoa says her husband has also recently joined the business, where he mostly focuses on the food.
Dia De Los Pescados offers a bright and colorful atmosphere paired with a Dia De Los Muertos theme.
The restaurant offers fish tacos, shrimp tacos, shrimp alfredo fries, shrimp alfredo pasta, jumbo coconut shrimp, Po’ boys, shrimp and chips, fish and chips, and more.
For those who are not fans of fish, the restaurant also offers meat dishes such as asada tacos, asada fries, asada nachos, asada burritos, and more.
Ochoa says everything is cooked to order and made from scratch.
The restaurant also offers agua frescas, alcoholic beverages, and desserts such as cheesecake, cookies, and brownies.
Ochoa says she’s grateful to the El Paso community for welcoming her and the business.
“I’m just so touched on how people support us when we need,” Ochoa said.
Ochoa adds the business holds fundraisers for children with cancer and so far the business has raised $17,000 for families.
“It’s just beautiful how El Paso comes together like that and I will always be grateful to El Paso and it’s the best decision by far we’ve ever made to move here,” Ochoa said.
Ochoa says they’re planning on holding a fundraiser later in the year.
Dia De Los Pescados located at 1491 Lee Trevinio. It is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m from Tuesday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays, and 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
To learn more on Dia De Los Pescados, click here: @diadelospescados.
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