Leiby’s Food Truck: A Guatemalan Culinary Corner Serves Authentic Flavors with Love
Leybi Rogel y María José Pereira, owners of Leybi’s Food Truck. Photo by Jasmin Adriana González, JEFAS Magazine
By Karlha Velásquez, JEFAS MAGAZINE
On a quiet corner of Sioux City, a food truck parked on 7th Street offers more than authentic Guatemalan flavors—it tells a story of love, migration, and entrepreneurship. It is a symbol of shared dreams that proves love, passion, and authentic flavors can build a marriage and a thriving business that feeds a community.
Leiby Rogel and María José Pereira, both from Guatemala, turned a long-distance relationship into a business that feeds both the soul and the stomach. Today, their venture, Leiby’s Food Truck and Catering, LLC, is not only a local favorite but also a symbol of artisan food that honors Central American roots.
Rogel, who developed a passion for cooking thanks to her family’s influence, met Pereira through social media in 2014. At the time, Rogel was in Iowa and Pereira was living in Guatemala. They maintained a long-distance relationship for five years while planning a future together, until they married in 2019 in the United States.
Pereira admits she didn’t know anything about cooking before meeting Rogel. But since they planned to open a food business from the start, she took a pastry course while still living in Guatemala. By the time she arrived in the United States, Pereira had developed an appreciation for the science of baking and cooking. “I started discovering myself and learning more about food than I ever did in my home country,” Pereira recalls. She enjoyed it more than expected and was happy to expand her knowledge alongside Rogel.
In 2023, they officially registered the business under the name Leiby’s Food Truck and Catering LLC and began offering catering services with preset menus. They saved and reinvested every cent earned through catering into taking their dream to the next level. Finally, after saving $50,000, they purchased and wrapped a fully equipped food truck with all the features they had been hoping for.
A Cultural Blend That’s Good for Business
According to the 2020 Census, Sioux City has a population of 85,797, of which 22% is primarily of Mexican origin. To connect with this audience, Rogel decided to include Mexican dishes on the menu, as they would be more familiar than Guatemalan food. This blend of food and culture is reflected in the truck’s design, which proudly features both the Guatemalan and Mexican flags, representing the rich diversity within their community.
Putting Guatemalan Food on the Map
If you search online for “Guatemalan food in Sioux City,” Leiby’s Food Truck is the first result, for good reason. They’ve earned a strong reputation thanks to their authentic, handmade approach.
Rogel explains that their longanizas (Guatemalan sausage), chorizos, and tortillas are all made by hand. “We put in a lot of time and love to offer the highest quality to everyone, no matter where they come from,” she emphasizes. Their unique flavors—far from the supermarket standard—have won over many customers, especially construction workers.
The truck operates at Yummi Blox, a food truck lot filled with locally owned trucks, located at 700 W 7th St, an area known for its diverse residents and small businesses. They make it easy for everyone to try their food by accepting credit card payments, cash, Venmo, and Zelle.
Leybi Rogel y María José Pereira, owners of Leybi’s Food Truck. Photo by Jasmin Adriana González, JEFAS Magazine
Passion Builds Trust
Rogel and Pereira agree that to keep a business running, you must show empathy toward your customers, regardless of where they come from. For them, transparency is key, which is why they’re careful to ensure that every client receives exactly what’s promised: quality.
“A business is like life… if it doesn’t have passion, there’s no trust,” Pereira says.
To make this happen, the couple has no days off. From Thursday to Sunday, they operate the food truck from noon to 8:00 p.m. The rest of the week is spent shopping and preparing the food.
“People think we have days off just because they don’t see us out there, but we prepare everything by hand. The only thing store-bought might be the bread,” Rogel comments.
Their most popular dishes require hours of commitment. The churrasco, which takes longer to prepare, is only served on weekends. The birria tacos, which is popular at lunch time, takes hours of simmering to achieve the perfect tenderness and are only sold on Thursdays and Fridays.
Seven days a week, Leiby Rogel and María José Pereira pour their hearts into handmade sausages, slow-simmered birria, and fresh tortillas. Their success isn’t just measured in satisfied customers or sold-out weekends—it’s in the way they’ve honored their Guatemalan heritage while embracing their new community. Ultimately, for them, food is a way to share who they are. “Every dish carries a little piece of our story,” Rogel says with pride. Their food truck stands as proof that when you lead with love and authenticity, success follows.
