Famed Watts Vendor Tamales Elena Hosts a Residency in West Adams This Summer
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Maléna by Tamales Elena will open with Maydan Market in mid-July with tamales, pozoles, and more in West Adams Jun 11, 2025, 5:15 PM UTC
Tamales Elena, one of the top Guerrero-style tamales vendors in Los Angeles, is coming to the forthcoming Maydan Market in West Adams for a two-month residency when the food hall opens in early to mid-July 2025. Dubbed Maléna by Tamales Elena, founder Maria Elena will serve Afro-Mexican dishes from Acapulco, Guerrero, like tamales nejos (tamales wrapped in banana leaves), hard-shell tacos with sofrito-fried fish, picaritas (masa rounds with lard, cheese, and salsa), and soulful pozoles — perhaps Elena's finest dish.
Maria Elena first began serving tamales in the 1990s, opening a food truck in Watts in 2007 with her husband, Juan Irra. In July 2020, Elena, Irra, and their daughters opened Tamales Elena y Antojitos, a drive-thru restaurant in Bell Gardens serving pozole, tamales, and more. The restaurant closed in 2022, only to reopen a few months later. Sadly, the Bell Gardens restaurant shuttered permanently in late 2022. The Watts truck has maintained operations through the years, open daily from 6 a.m. to the early afternoon until sold out.
Tamales Elena's opening at Maydan Market signals another significant venture to central Los Angeles for the family. Previte had become a fan during the restaurant in Bell Gardens and has visited the truck numerous times, she says. Elena's daughters, who will be contributing to Maléna, have gained experience working in some of the city's most respected kitchens over the years, including Rivera, Petty Cash Taqueria, and Guerrilla Tacos. Heidi Irra was also chef de cuisine at Mezcalero in Downtown LA.
After Maléna by Tamales Elena ends in August, the market will rotate to another operator at the stall, called Club 104. Come September, Memphis-raised chef Melissa Cottingham will serve biscuits, wings, and garlic noodles, while Meymuna Hussein-Cattan from Flavors From Afar will take over Club 104 in December. Then, in early 2026, Eater YouTube host, food television personality, and seasoned chef Nyesha Arrington will host a residency. Arrington operates Native at Los Angeles International Airport but hasn't opened a full-time restaurant outside of the airport since Native closed in Santa Monica in March 2019. Arrington was named Eater LA's chef of the year in 2015. See More: LA Pop-Up Restaurants
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