Famous feeding frenzy: DiCaprio film crew orders over and over from one Sacramento tamale shop

By CNN

Published February 28, 2024 10:34 AM

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By Ashley Sharp

SACRAMENTO, California (KOVR) — One Sacramento small business quickly became a fan favorite of the famous, serving up food to the stars not once, not twice, but eight times.

The region has been buzzing with news of Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Teyana Taylor and Regina Hall shooting a Warner Brothers movie across Sacramento, Stockton and other parts of the region.

Yolanda’s Tamales helped serve up a hot helping of Sacramento flavor to those in town to film.

“Just thinking about it gives me chills!” said Andres Yanez, owner and chef at Yolanda’s Tamales.

The Sacramento restaurant and popular food truck was put in the Hollywood spotlight by one simple Google search: Sacramento’s best tamales.

Yanez landed the gig of a lifetime when a film crew producer with mouths to feed came calling.

“They said, ‘Hey, what else can you guys do? I said, ‘Whatever you want!'” Yanez said.

What started with a simple first order of 300 tamales for the film crew turned into eight massive catering calls totaling nearly $10,000 in revenue for Yolanda’s Tamales.

It was a feeding frenzy for the famous on film sets across Sacramento for weeks.

“They were really happy with the food and they kept coming back,” Yanez said. “Come to Yolanda’s, we will take care of you guys. We’ll take care of the whole crew.”

After the crew wrapped their final order, Yolanda’s Tamales posted their Hollywood highlight on their Instagram page.

“We’re here at it again. Making mean burritos for the movie they’re filming in Sacramento,” Yanez says in the video shared on social media.

He was blown away by the added business boom that followed from those wanting a taste of what was served up to the stars.

“The phone was blowing up all day today,” Yanez said on Monday. “It helped us out a lot, and I know it helped businesses in downtown as well.”

Yanez said this is their slow season at the tamale shop and this spotlight, while not on the big screen, is a big boost.

However, he left one open callback for DiCaprio.

“You know, Leo, come try the fajitas fresh in person! I’ll take care of you,” Yanez said.

Yolanda’s Tamales Factory is located at 6885 Luther Dr. in Sacramento.

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