Peruvian food truck beloved by SpaceX employees opens storefront in Long Beach

Sometimes when she was headed to a lunch spot or catering job, the fryer in Karla Flores’ food truck would catch fire.

The behemoth she drove was less than ideal, purchased with a $15,000 loan from her father who came into the money through a personal injury settlement. Luckily though, Flores’ siblings were also behind her, and one of them would quickly quell the flames as she kept driving.

That family support — and a dedication to authentic Peruvian food — has paid off for Flores. It earned her a coveted spot serving food at the SpaceX campus in Hawthorne for the last nine years, and now, she’s bringing her dishes to a new brick-and-mortar restaurant at the corner of Wardlow Road and Atlantic Avenue. It sits just over a half mile from the California Heights home where her parents have lived since 1996.

The restaurant’s name, Alli Kaphiy, means “great coffee” in Quechua, an Incan language indigenous to Peru. Along with coffee, the spot offers a range of Peruvian food including ceviche, burgers and four different sandwiches. Everything on the menu is made from scratch, including the bread for the sandwiches and the aji — a green, spicy Peruvian sauce.

For Flores, authenticity is a big focus. Her parents travel to Peru at least three times a year to bring back staple ingredients for her food truck and now her restaurant.

“We pay homage to Peru because our cuisine is exceptional,” she said.

Flores, who lived in Peru until she was 9 years old, still makes a point of getting fresh fish for her ceviche every day from the San Pedro Fish Market.

“Fresh fish is a must. I grew up with that,” Flores said. “Everything needs to be fresh because it makes a huge difference in the flavor.”

Peruvian ceviche is far from the others you have likely encountered around Long Beach.

It is made with thin slices of fish with lime juice, salt, garlic and yuyo – a red algae native to Peru.

Then of course comes the spice. Flores said she prefers her ceviche only one way, “the spicier it is, the better it is.”

During Latino Restaurant Week Long Beach City , which runs through Saturday, you can get a $14 sandwich slider flight from Alli Kaphiy with a pork chicharron sandwich, a roasted chicken sandwich and a slow-roasted marinated turkey sandwich plus a drink of your choice.

Flores’ brother Renzo, who inherited her old food truck after she upgraded a couple of years ago, is handling the coffee at Alli Kaphiy.

“Renzo is very finicky when it comes to the quality of his beans,” Flores said.

Lavazza, the Italian coffee company, produces a special blend for the Renzo’s coffee truck, which now also serves at SpaceX.

The family is combining those two successful ventures for the Cal Heights brick-and-mortar. Along one of the walls of Alli Kaphiy is a mural depicting scenes from Peru, Mexico City and Long Beach to symbolize the family’s journey. It was painted by Long Beach tattoo artist floesome , and Flores said it will be a key feature of future stores they open.

That journey it depicts is one that came with unexpected twists.

Flores used to work as a mechanical engineer, but about 15 years ago, an injury forced her to change careers. She always had an interest in food, and that passion was reignited when she took a cooking class with a friend at Long Beach City College. After the class, she decided to double major in culinary arts, and baking and pastry arts.

She finished both degrees in a year and a half and began working for local catering companies not long after.

When Flores launched her food truck, it was slow going to gather clientele. She struggled to cover the $650 a week she needed to store her truck in a commissary.

With her family helping her operate the food truck, they made ends meet until they got their big break: meeting Barry Fogel of the food truck booking agency Book That Truck.

Flores said Fogel helped her land events all over Los Angeles and eventually gave her the opportunity to serve at SpaceX, where — to this day — she’s left a lasting impression.

Her customers there all call her “mama,” Flores said, even those older than her.

Alli Kaphiy, 3399 Atlantic Ave., is open Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on weekends from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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