Sound & Vision: Lupe Flores's Situ Tacos

This piece originally aired on KEXP's Sound & Vision on October 12, 2024, as part of KEXP's Aqui y Ahora programming. But in celebration of Wild Powwers' 10th Anniversary Party at Tractor Tavern this Thursday, November 21 (with Constant Lovers and Gary V), we've decided to publish the segment here on the website! You can listen to the segment on the player above or read a transcript of the interview below.

 EMILY FOX (HOST OF SOUND & VISION): This is Sound and Vision on KEXP. I'm Emily Fox. Let's return to our occasional series, Day Job, where we talk with musicians about how they juggle their art and finances. In our latest installment, KEXP's Martin Douglas went over to Seattle's Ballard neighborhood to have lunch at Lupe Sittu's Tacos and speak with its co-owner, Flores is also the drummer for the alternative rock trio Wild Powers. 

After the lunch rush, Martin sat down in the restaurant's back bar to interview Flores about how cooking and music came to be parallel paths in her life. 

MARTIN DOUGLAS: Don't eat the f—ing toothpicks.  It's not only conventional wisdom. It's a way of life.  It's also the motto of Lupe's Situ Tacos, the restaurant co-owned by veteran rock drummer Lupe Flores. 

The tacos at Lupe's are deep-fried, and there's no possible way to keep them closed long enough to cook without weaving toothpicks into the tortillas. Lupe's Situ Tacos has signage, reminders on the menus, And even an animatronic parrot pre-programmed with an array of messages, including the restaurant's most important one, don't eat the f—ing toothpicks. 

Yet still, there are people who have managed to encounter accidents from consuming sharp wooden objects, even when they're repeatedly told otherwise.  Thankfully, there is a medical center a few blocks away from Lupe's Situ Tacos, which is located on the corner of Vernon and historic Ballard Avenue. The restaurant's immaculately decorated with bright colors. Floral patterns on the tabletops and an aesthetic that's clearly indebted to the style of American traditional tattoo art.  On a visit to Lupe's, Flores described a conversation she had with two employees of Swedish Hospital who had dinner at the restaurant. 

LUPE FLORES: Like the other day, these two super cute ladies come in and they get food and they sit down and they were like, everything was delicious. And like, the toothpicks are really obvious. I don't know what the deal is. And I was like, Oh, did you hear about, I was like, did you like read our one-star reviews or whatever? And she goes, No, we work at Swedish and ever since you opened like people are coming in with like toothpicks like lodged in their esophagus They're small intestines.

I was like, 'Oh my god, please. I was like, are you joking? Please tell me you're joking.' She was like, 'No,' but like she's like, 'but it's so obvious and you tell us and there's signs everywhere' and I was like, 'that's not good though.' And she's all she's like, 'Oh, honey. You don't want to know the stuff we find in people's bodies. That's nothing... you're fine. '

DOUGLAS: Before a big part of her life's work came from reminding people that toothpicks are not edible, Flores was already well known as a fixture in Seattle's rock scene. Whether it's for the heavy metal band, Tacos, or the locally beloved alternative rock trio, Wild Powers, Flores powerful drumming gives these bands a heaviness that would be hard to come by otherwise. 

Wild Powers released their fifth album, aptly titled Pop Hits and Total Bummers Volume 5, back in July. For a band that gets better with each new album, it's not a stretch to say that this is the best Wild Powers album yet.  Not just because the melodies are more irresistible than ever, or because the production makes the songs feel like they're being sent into the sky like airplanes. The greatness of Pop Hits and Total Bummers Volume 5 also lies in Flores drumming.  

The songs make more room for her to stretch her legs. Figuratively, of course, there are also spots where Flores has given her own space to shine. Like on album highlight, "Sam's Song."

For many opening a restaurant would be the culmination of an entire life's work.  And for Flores, it sort of was,  but she makes it clear that music is her passion in life. And having this vibrant, beautiful eatery is just a fun way to pay the bills. 

FLORES: A lot of people see this place, which obviously like, I put my heart and soul and so much time and money into this place, but they're like, Oh, this is your dream. And I'm like,  no, actually my dream is playing Wembley Stadium. That's my dream. For someone who was such an accomplished and dedicated musician.

DOUGLAS: You'd think that Flores was playing around with drumsticks from an early age, but when I spoke to her in the gorgeous back bar of Lupe's Situ Tacos, she said that wasn't the case.

DOUGLAS (IN INTERVIEW): In thinking about this place, I think about how as a lifelong music person, the two biggest things that inspire my memory are music and food. And so What came first for you? Was it the music or the food? 

FLORES: No, it was definitely food. Music was out of pure need because it was way later. There was no music in my life growing up.

Like, I feel like a lot of musicians are like, 'Oh, I sang whatever in church' or 'My parents always had music.' There was literally no music. There has always been food. 

DOUGLAS: On every menu at Lupe's Situ Tacos, the backstory of how this restaurant was established is printed on the bottom. It starts with the restaurant's namesake, Lupe Situ.

FLORES: So, Situ is Arabic for grandma. Her name was Dolores Flores and she was Lebanese and Mexican. And I grew up, when I was real young, in Florida, which is where all my extended family lived. Like, 18 family members,  regularly hanging out and having dinner in Jacksonville, Florida. And so, I grew up there in that environment and it was just normal to have it be like constantly loud and full of food. Like there was no music but you just yell as a way of talking in my family. 

DOUGLAS: Flores was one of 13 grandchildren who grew up together in Jacksonville. And very early on in life, she was chosen by her grandmother to carry on a certain tradition. 

FLORES: And when I was three, I just, it was my earliest memory, I think, one of my earliest. Situ pulled me aside and she was like, you're gonna be the next Situ. 'You can play, but then I'm going to need you to come back to the kitchen and you're going to...' she decided for some reason I was the one who was going to learn all of the recipes and the culture and all.

DOUGLAS: Flores remembers very clearly what the environment was like in her situ's kitchen.

FLORES: So I would sit around with her and all of, like, my tias, my aunties, who were not actually related to me. They were just other Arabic and Mexican women. And they would just sit there and speak in Arabic and Spanish. And talk mad sh Like they, I remember gossiping from so young, like talking about who cheated on who, and like mafia people, and you know, I'm not going to name names, but there's, they sound like they're from The Sopranos.

And I'd be like, they started out picking the leaves off the parsley and cilantro. That was the first thing I was allowed to do when I was three. Like I had to spend all this time watching and learning and picking off leaves forever,  until I was allowed to do that. And then I was allowed to do that, and it was like baby steps, baby steps. Until I got to a point where she died when I was 17 and uh, and at that point, that's kind of when I took the reins and was like, cause my mom, so she's my mom's mom and she also cooks, but she also had like a more than full-time job raising us and putting us through school and all these things. And so she did like an impatient version of cooking cause she didn't have the time, you know?

And so then when I was 17, I kind of was like... We kind of just switched roles and now I cook for the whole family for my parents and everybody 

DOUGLAS: While Flores was becoming the new Situ after her grandmother's passing, she quite literally dreamt of being a drummer.

FLORES: I think I was like 16 or 7 no 17 I had a dream. This is gonna sound hippie as f— but I had a dream about playing drums on stage and I went out to Fremont Drum shop, which I don't know if it's still there I mean this was over 23rd. I don't know. I'm 42. 17. You do the math. A long ass time ago and I just went and got a gem bag cause I was like, 'Oh, this is how I'll start.'

And I just started playing percussion and Flores didn't think much about the responsibility of being anointed the new Situ, essentially the person who cooks meals for the whole family when she was younger. But it did finally hit her years later when she opened up Lupe Situ Tacos. It has never struck me as being a heavy thing until I opened this place.

And now I'm like, my overhead is more money – double what I've ever had in my bank account on a monthly basis. So that's the part that's heavy to me now. But like the responsibility of cooking and upholding my culture, like my mom and my, all the women in my family are always like, Never forget who you are or where you come from. That's been instilled in me since birth, in all of us since birth. And so, I take that really seriously and I'm also like very proud and I feel very lucky to have that connection and to be able to share it with people. 

DOUGLAS: It took a global health crisis to inspire Flores to go from cooking for her family to opening a restaurant of her own. Which features her grandma, or Situ's, taco recipe. 

FLORES: There was a global pandemic, and I lost my sh— and I got a divorce. I went on my divorce road trips, and I was like, Alright, I gotta, I'm losing it. I do know that like, Situ tacos are something people have historically loved in my life. Like, I make them for special occasions for my friends.

And I was just craving connections so bad because everyone was so isolated on purpose. And I was like, I got to do something. Like I need to be around people and I'm dying inside. And so I started making these tacos and I'm doing deliveries and dropping them out, like masked on people's doorsteps, dropping off deliveries and just put it on my Instagram Stories.

And people were just like, I was selling out immediately, like in a half hour. And so then I started doing pop-ups.

DOUGLAS: From there she enlisted a business partner. They went from a space in Belltown's Jupiter Bar to their own space in Ballard, a space that Flores says has been financially solvent since she was dropping off orders on people's doorsteps.

FLORES: We've been profitable since we started at every single stage of this business, even now, which is shocking when I think about the money that we're paying. I just take off two zeros. So I take off two zeros of what I owe and I take off two zeros of what I make. And then I'm like, okay, it's sort of okay. Like I think we're okay.  But I actually have no idea. I'm like, well, I'm paying my bills and my employees.  Hopefully we'll keep that up. 

DOUGLAS: Ultimately, Flores wants Lupe Situ Tacos to be able to run smoothly without having to be there full time plus, behind the counter, in the kitchen, and sometimes behind the bar.

FLORES: Right now there is no balance and I barely sleep. But I'm hoping my goal is to be able to have this place be mostly passive income. I want to be like the somewhat boozy restaurant owner that comes in and buys shots for all my friends, makes the soups cause I'm very passionate about my soups and then have the rest of my staff know how to do all of my quote-unquote "recipes," which are not written down.

It's just like me teaching you how to cook. Which, I think we're well on our way. Like, having a predominantly female staff, we have a very connected, familial, it feels like family. It's very sweet, and I trust them, and I trust them with how I cook, and my culture, and how I was raised, and so I'm teaching all those people that.

And I'm hoping to get to a point where we're making enough business that I can have them just work the shifts. I can come in and take shots and make soup and it will also allow me to go on tour. That's how. I'm trying to make it so that I can leave this place for, you know, four to six weeks. Go play music as much as I can and it'll be fine.

DOUGLAS: Flores suffers from the same struggle as most highly functioning, ambitious people. The fact that there is simply not enough time in the day to get everything done.  She still plays drums along with overseeing every aspect of the restaurant.  Thankfully, she has a capable business partner and a handful of cooks so that she doesn't have to spend every waking moment there. 

But between Lupe's Situ Tacos and the band she plays drums for, the only way to do both is to give up the, very literal, dream of getting a full night's sleep.  But there is no either or for Flores.  Her business is thriving and playing drums is her passion.

FLORES: I'm going to forever play drums, but as far as me thinking I'm going to make it, I kind of... I mean, I'm not like a 15-year-old YouTube star.

I don't know how to TikTok, like whatever. I'm just going to keep playing with my friends.  And it's fun and just keep having fun. And hopefully I'll have more time for that sooner than later. But I am making a lot of time. Hopefully it'll be more time. Hopefully that'll get a little more even soon and be less food, more music. But we're getting there.