Tacos Marlyn wins Arizona Women-Owned Small Business of the Year

Patricia L. Lara and Dania Vizcarra built Tacos Marlyn from a family restaurant with roots in Mexicali into a Yuma business now being recognized across Arizona for women-led entrepreneurship. The U.S. Small Business Administration named Tacos Marlyn Arizona Women-Owned Small Business of the Year, one of nine Arizona businesses honored during National Small Business Week, a statewide nod that gives Yuma another example of a local restaurant becoming an economic brand, not just a dining stop.

For Lara, the recognition landed as a surprise, and she said the team was grateful. That reaction fits the business’s trajectory: Tacos Marlyn began in 1986 in Mexicali, opened its second location in El Centro, California, in 2014, and was set to bring a third location to Yuma on July 1, 2023, before holding its grand opening on Aug. 8, 2024. The restaurant specializes in authentic Baja-style seafood, tacos and beverages made with quality ingredients, a menu that helped it stand out as it expanded across the border region.

The award matters in Yuma because restaurants here are often more than places to eat. They hire locally, anchor commercial corridors and give small-business owners visible proof that a neighborhood concept can grow into something larger. In Tacos Marlyn’s case, the honor also reflects the role of women operators in a county economy built heavily on small businesses, food service, cross-border commerce and tourism. When a Yuma restaurant gets statewide recognition, it signals to other owners that a local brand can compete beyond city limits without losing the identity that made it work.

The recognition also adds a practical lesson for other Yuma entrepreneurs: growth does not have to mean leaving the community behind. Tacos Marlyn’s story shows a business can start in Mexicali, expand into El Centro and then establish a foothold in Yuma while keeping a clear product identity and family ownership structure. Public business records list Patricia L. Lara as the registered agent for Tacos Marlyn LLC and show the company was filed in Arizona on Jan. 13, 2021, underscoring how long the Arizona expansion was in motion before the Yuma opening.

Arizona business coverage identified the honorees as Dania Vizcarra and Patricia L. Lara, reinforcing the women-owned nature of the company behind the award. The SBA’s Arizona District Office serves the entire state, including Yuma County, so the recognition placed a local restaurant into a much wider statewide frame. For Yuma, it is another reminder that some of the county’s strongest economic stories are being written by homegrown businesses with owners who are building beyond a single storefront.