Our Founders

In the 1930s, Benito Espinosa and his wife Florencia Aguilar Espinosa ran a molino (corn mill/grinder) in their hometown of Silao, Guanajuato. Back in Silao, most people made their own corn tortillas daily, thus locals would bring their home-cooked corn for grinding in the morning. Once the corn was ground, it would be used to make tortillas, tamales, sopes, gorditas, and much more.

Eventually, the Espinosa family would make their way north to the United States. They settled in Los Angeles, California, which was home to a steadily growing Mexican and Latin American populace.

Silao Market was established in 1954 by Florencia Aguilar Espinosa on 3132 Brooklyn Ave. (now Cesar Chavez Ave) in the city of Los Angeles California. In addition to providing everyday groceries, Florencia also hired an incredible team of ladies to make handmade corn tortillas, while her daughter Carmen and daughter-in-law Maria made tamales and menudo. However, they struggled to keep up with the growing demand for homemade corn tortillas.

By the late 1950s, Florencia’s sons Leandro and Manuel had recognized the rapidly growing demand and successfully installed a machine which produced 60 dozen tortillas per hour, a great innovation at a time when there were only five tortilla factories in Los Angeles. Leandro often said, “The challenge was to convince the public to accept machine-made tortillas instead of hand-made.”

In 1965, Florencia retired and passed the torch to her sons. Thus, Silao Tortillería was born.

Silao Market was the foundation upon which Silao Tortillería would be established. In 1967, the business moved to 4136 Brooklyn Ave & Gifford St. where a flour tortilla line was established.

In 1968, Leandro and Manuel created Espinosa Bros. Distributors, dedicated to the importation of Mexican food products such as spices, candies, buñuelos, cookies, fruit preserves, jalapeños, and other Mexican food products that were new to the Los Angeles market.

Eventually, the property would be sold in 1977, and Leandro would become sole owner of the business after he purchased his brother Manuel’s share.

In 1978, the inception of the hydraulic press transformed the flour tortilla industry. Leandro moved the hand-stretched flour tortilla operation from the Brooklyn plant to Proctor Ave. in City of Industry. Upon opening the new plant, Silao was granted a five-year exclusivity in the manufacturing of the “press tortilla,” which led to the introduction of pressed tortillas to the L.A. market. It was here where Silao produced a wide variety of products including corn, flour, wheat, honey wheat tortillas, gorditas, Mexican sweet bread, and ethnic breads such as chapati and tannour. As it was a family business, Leandro’s wife Maria and their children worked to help the business thrive.

By 1992, Leandro had recognized that the tortilla industry had become extremely competitive and non-profitable. He opened a second plant on 250 N. California Ave, which specialized in fried products. Thus, the now famous Silao Tostada was born. As was usual practice for Leandro, he would not place the Silao label on any product that did not meet his standards. He placed all efforts toward providing the finest tostada on the market. After several trials, he succeeded in developing a perfect tostada that would not crumble under the weight of food toppings and would enhance the flavor of any food it was paired with. By the mid 1990s, Silao discontinued tortilla production and focused on fried products.

Leandro often said, “The grain of the future is corn and its possibilities are endless.” After decades of providing an incredible variety of corn and flour based products, we now specialize in providing the finest tostadas and totopos on the market. As Silao continues with the tradition of only providing quality products, the best is yet to come.

Since Leandro’s passing in 2016, his wife Maria de los Angeles and their children now carry on his vision of providing the finest Mexican corn products to the American marketplace.

In the nearly 70 years that Silao has been in business, the company has received numerous prestigious awards in recognition of its impact on the tortilla industry of Southern California. 

1954 – 1977

Florencia Aguilar Espinosa opens Silao Market on Brooklyn Ave. (now Cesar Chavez) in the city of Los Angeles in 1954. The market provides handmade corn and flour tortillas, tamales, and menudo.

Florencia retires in 1965. Her sons Leandro and Manuel form the Espinosa Bros. Distribution co. Leandro installs a machine which produces 60 dozen tortillas an hour. This revolutionizes the tortilla industry in the United States, as supply is able to meet the growing demand for authentic Mexican corn products.

1978 – 1992

After 23 years in Los Angeles proper, the business relocates to the City of Industry on Proctor Street. Silao introduces the “pressed tortilla” to the Los Angeles market.

Leandro Espinosa and his family push the business forward, expanding production to include a variety of wheat and corn products including flavored wheat and corn tortillas, sweet bread.

1993 – Present

In 1993, Leandro opens a second plant at our current location on N. California Ave. in the City of Industry. At this point, the Southern California area is saturated with tortilla manufacturers. Leandro decides to expand production to include fried foods including tostadas and buñuelos.

The Proctor plant is closed in 1993 and Leandro perfects his tostada recipe. He decides to specialize in providing the finest tostada on the market, which leads us to where we are today nearly 30 years later.