How Chris Rios Turned a Personal Loss Into Austin's Most Beloved Vegan Taco Truck

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TLDR

The Vegan Nom is Austin's first all-vegan taco truck, and the story behind it is rooted in something very personal. East Austin native Chris Rios opened it in 2012 out of a 7x12 food trailer on North Loop and sold out within two hours of opening day. Today, it operates from a 1970s Airstream at Vegan Nom Food Park on East Cesar Chavez, serving up breakfast tacos, chipotle-sauced burritos, and the now-famous Planet Queso.

Rios has been running it for over a decade, and the Eastside roots that shaped him are still all over the food.

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A Personal Loss That Changed Everything

Chris Rios didn't become vegan because of a trend. When his mother passed away in 2008 from health complications, he started rethinking his health, his choices, and his relationship with food. He had grown up on the Tex-Mex traditions of East Austin: big family dinners, homemade tortillas, his mom's enchiladas, weekend potlucks that stretched into the evening. Going vegan meant leaving all of that behind, at least in the form he had always known it.

For six months in 2011, Rios searched Austin for a vegan taco that actually felt like home. He couldn't find one. So he made his own.

Sunday Brunches That Became a Business

Before there was a truck, there were Sunday morning taco parties at Rios' house. He would invite neighbors and friends and serve his early experiments: a signature Chipotle sauce, a tofu scramble that could hold its own against any egg, and vegan chorizo with the heat and spice he grew up with. People kept coming back, and they kept bringing others.

In 2012, he opened The Vegan Nom inside a 7x12 food trailer on North Loop. On opening day, they sold out in two hours. It was proof that a whole community had been waiting for exactly this.

Growing Into an East Austin Institution

In 2016, Rios upgraded to an iconic 1970s Airstream and moved the operation to East Cesar Chavez, his old stomping ground. The bigger space let him expand the menu and give the community room to gather. The Vegan Nom Food Park took shape around it, with Nom Burgers, East Austin Coffee, and Milky Way Shakes setting up as neighbors. The park now includes a rentable event area so the block can host the wider East Austin community year-round.

Word spread well beyond Austin. VICE and MUNCHIES featured Rios on the premiere episode of their show Off the Truck. CBS Austin, KXAN's Studio 512, and VegWorld Magazine all covered the brand. Tequila Camarena called him a Tex-Mex Pioneer. The recognition came because what Rios built was grounded in real cultural tradition, and people could taste the difference.

Planet Queso and a Bigger Mission

During the pandemic, Rios packaged and released Planet Queso Mix for wholesale, retail, and online. It is dairy-free, nut-free, gluten-free, and legume-based, with a 12-month shelf life. It addressed something real: the lack of allergen-friendly queso options for restaurants and home cooks.

Planet Queso grew out of the same thinking that built The Vegan Nom: vegan food should be accessible, flavorful, and rooted in the same traditions that shaped the dishes people already love.

Final Thoughts

Chris Rios opened The Vegan Nom to fill a gap he felt personally. Over a decade later, it has become a landmark in Austin's food scene and a gathering space on the Eastside that the neighborhood has made its own.

To learn more and explore the full menu, visit thevegannom.com. You can also order ahead at vegan-nom---cesar-chavez.square.site.

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