This beloved Wynwood food truck is closing for good. Here’s how its tacos will live on

Wynwood is losing one of its cutest food trucks.

Caja Caliente, famous for its Cuban tacos, is closing its Wynwood location. The last day is May 5, which, by the way, is Cinco de Mayo and Taco Tuesday, so it’s a double whammy of sadness.

The food truck, which opened in 2016, had been operating on a temporary use permit. Since then, the city of Miami has made changes in its zoning process, and the permit can’t be renewed.

But don’t despair. Owner Mika Leon has big plans for Caja Caliente’s future.

She’s planning to open a new brick-and-mortar store in Midtown (no details yet on when that will happen). Also, Leon and her mother, Lupita, are planning to operate two food trucks that will roam all over Miami, bringing tacos to the people.

In an open letter, Leon thanked the city, saying the original Wynwood food truck paved the way for her Coral Gables brick-and-mortar space, which opened a year ago.

“I opened up Caja Caliente with a humble dream and the desire to share my family recipes,” she wrote. “As hard as it is to say goodbye, this is just the beginning of another beautiful chapter in our book.”

You can say goodbye to the food truck at 6 p.m. May 6, when it hosts a social-distancing farewell parade with live music. You can’t order tacos, but you can drive by to pay your respects.

In the meantime, Caja Caliente is teaming up with another Wynwood favorite, Le Chick, to sell Caja Chick tacos, which combine crispy buttermilk fried chicken with mango and black bean pico de gallo, cilantro and garlic aioli sauce. You can find them at Le Chick in Wynwood (310 NW 24th St., Miami) and Caja Caliente Coral Gables (808 Ponce de Leon Blvd.); they’re $11 for two.

This story was originally published May 4, 2020 at 10:44 AM.