'Rocky's tortillas' are a phenomenon in Elgin

If there's ever been an Elgin social media star, it's tortilla maker Rocky Lopez.

Lopez, the amiable tattooed owner of Tortilleria Chihuahua, has garnered tons of attention on Facebook by shooting quirky videos of himself at work, making deliveries and musing about his tortillas.

His videos are getting thousands of views, and enticing people to seek out his tortillas and even post selfies with them on the "What's Happening in Elgin?" Facebook page.

The result is that Tortilleria Chihuahua is flying off the shelves, Elgin Fresh Market co-owner Bobby Tzotzolis said. "People just come in looking for his product. They say, 'I want Rocky's tortillas!' Of course it doesn't say 'Rocky's tortillas' on it," Tzotzolis said.

"His product is awesome. It's fresh. The guy makes them fresh every morning and he has them delivered every morning. We have other tortillas that are fresh, but his is right out of the oven and 60 minutes later, it's in the store."

So what does Lopez think of his newfound fame? "It's great. It's crazy," Lopez said. "I believe in my product and I have a passion, and people can see that."

The 47-year-old Lopez runs his business out of Shared Dream Kitchen in Elgin, where he and four employees, including his parents, make about 6,000 tortillas a day starting as early as 2 a.m.

When he started about six weeks ago, he was making 600 tortillas every two days. Now he's making two rounds of deliveries per day at stores in Elgin, Algonquin and Carpentersville, and going back to resupply if more product is needed, he said.

And yes, it's a lot of work. "I'm not even trying to be cool right now," he said with a big laugh. "I do get tired."

His ingredients are simple, he said: flour, salt, baking powder, vegetable shortening and water, based on a New Mexico-based recipe he learned from his mother.

Lopez said he knows he turns heads with his face tattoos, which include "faith" on his temple, the names of his kids on his cheekbones and the faces of his granddaughters on his neck. Sometimes people wrongly assume they are gang tattoos, he said.

"I like attention," Lopez said. "I like talking to people. I find people interesting. I know I get both good and bad attention, but when I start talking to them, it's a whole different story. It's always good."

He's grateful his wife didn't make good on her threat to leave him four years ago, when he announced he wanted to get his first face tattoo, he said. "She's like my motor that keeps everything going."

This is the second incarnation of Tortilleria Chihuahua, which Lopez ran from 2006 to 2013. The business closed after his plans to move fell through when the building owner canceled abruptly. He put all his equipment in storage and went back to working in construction. "It messed me up, but at the same time I believe in things happening for a reason," he said.

Two months ago, a realization hit him, he said. "I was driving a truck and I said to myself, 'What am I doing here? I know what I can do. I know what I am worth,'" he said. "I got mad at myself."

So he quit his job and started looking for investors, finding a willing one in his former neighbor Michael Bulka of Elgin. Bulka said he reviewed Lopez's business plan and decided to give it a shot.

"The guy has passion, no doubt, so that's what I am kind of hitching my ride on," Bulka said. "And I love the product. It's all natural, it's light and fluffy, just like it should be."

Business so far has been excellent, largely thanks to Lopez's social media presence, Bulka said. "We are trying to make something good, for both of our families."

Tortilleria Chihuahua is not outselling the largest and most well-known brands, Elgin Fresh Market's Tzotzolis said, but it's doing great for an independent small business.

"People love him," he said. "He's from Elgin, his product is made in Elgin. I can't think of anybody else who is marketing a product like this. The younger generation, the millennials, they all love that."