Yuma’s Best Taquito owner named Arizona Small Business Person of the Year

Alma Ornelas built Best Taquito into more than a place to eat, and that is the real lesson in her being named Arizona Small Business Person of the Year. The Yuma restaurant’s rise from a food truck to a recognized local brand shows how steady service, repeat customers and neighborhood trust can turn a small operation into a business with real staying power.

The U.S. Small Business Administration announced the 2026 state and territory award winners on March 27, and Ornelas was among the entrepreneurs chosen for National Small Business Week, which runs May 3-9. The agency will recognize the winners at a national ceremony in Washington, D.C., on May 3. For Yuma, the honor gives one restaurant statewide visibility and places a local owner in a national celebration the SBA has marked for more than 60 years.

Ornelas said the recognition reflects the people and habits that helped her business grow. “Be consistent, get involved with your communities, support locals, help each other and keep working hard for what they dream,” she said. Her words fit the way Best Taquito has operated in Yuma, where a restaurant’s reputation often depends as much on word of mouth and community presence as it does on the menu.

That local foundation goes back years. A Dec. 19, 2024 report said Ornelas had been serving food in Yuma since 2008. A Dec. 20, 2023 report said The Best Taquito began 15 years earlier as a food truck, underscoring how far the business had come before the state award. In February 2024, the restaurant was selected to be featured by America’s Best Restaurants, and in 2025 Ornelas pushed growth further by opening a second location in San Luis on Sept. 5 at Eddie’s Food and Drink.

The broader economic backdrop helps explain why the award matters beyond one storefront. The SBA says small businesses make up 99% of all businesses in America, create two out of every three new jobs and employ about half of the U.S. workforce. The agency’s Arizona District Office serves Yuma County, which means local entrepreneurs can move from neighborhood success to state-level recognition without leaving the region’s business network.

For Yuma, that creates more than bragging rights. A state honor for a local restaurant can bring fresh customers, strengthen credibility with suppliers and lenders, and remind residents that independent businesses still shape the city’s identity. Best Taquito’s path from food truck to award winner puts that growth story on display for Yuma County and for other family-run businesses trying to follow the same road.