Civic Center Eats offers exposure to small business food entrepreneurs

Civic Center Park hosts food trucks every Wednesday and Thursday during the summer lunch hours.

It's called Civic Center Eats and features a mix of regular trucks and guest trucks each week. Civic Center Eats is where you can find the Flavor of Tabasco food truck every Wednesday.

"It means a lot to us because a lot of people from different places come and try us," said Yadira Mendez, founder of Flavor of Tabasco. "We actually get a lot of caterings from the people who go over there."

Mendez's specialties are empanadas and birria tacos, in which the beef cooks for six hours before it's served.

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"We cook everything from scratch," Mendez told CBS News Colorado. "We're trying to bring the best quality that we possibly can."

The recipes have passed through generations of her family, originating in Tabasco, Mexico, a city in the southernmost region of Mexico. The flavor is born in unique spice blends and different types of chilies.

"As a single mom, I struggled many years ago so I used to sell tamales just to pay my rent," Mendez explained.

In the last three years, Mendez has grown a hobby into a family business. She has two Flavor of Tabasco trucks and customers lined up to taste her authentic Mexican cuisine.

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Civic Center Eats is one of many ways you can meet up at the park this summer. The Civic Center Conservancy has lots of special events and concerts on tap to encourage everyone to enjoy one of Denver's premier parks.