Brother continues legacy of Luz ‘Taco King’ Martinez with El Poco Loco in Burton, commitment to community

BURTON, MI — Six months ago, Luz Franciso Martinez, former owner of Poco Loco, and a servant to the community, died. This weekend, his family and friends will finally be able to properly celebrate his life.

Martinez died on Oct. 17 2020 after he went into a coma he never woke up from, according to his family.

Following his death, a funeral took place, but because of COVID-19 there were many restrictions that limited the number of people who could attend the gathering, leaving many friends, family and community members longing to celebrate his life another way.

Those dear to Martinez will celebrate his life and legacy on Saturday, April 24 at El Poco Loco, 4021 E Atherton Road, in Burton. The celebration will feature music, games, BBQ, a bounce house for kids and an outdoor tent.

On Friday, April 23, Martinez would have been 45 years old.

“He had this restaurant and he was a very giving, loving, wonderful man. He would have never turned anyone away. He gave to anyone that came to him,” Katherine Martinez, Luz’s sister-in-law, said.

Martinez said Luz was a light, a fitting complement since it’s what his name means in Spanish.

Luz’s brother, Robert Martinez agrees. The brothers, who are three years apart, only had each other for siblings. He described the duo as having a love-hate relationship as most brothers do, but they were always “tight”, the brother said.

“He did a lot of things during Christmas time with the food banks. He did a lot of free events catering also for some of his employees,” Roberto Martinez said. “He gave a lot of people their first job.”

Luz didn’t have any children, but he treated his niece and nephew as his own.

He opened Poco Loco in 2012, and soon after he would be known as the “Taco King”, an affectionate nickname many including his niece nephew called him because of his delicious tacos, Roberto Martinez said.

Since his brother’s death, Roberto Martinez has taken over the business in an effort to help keep his brother’s memory and legacy alive. The doors to the restaurant were reopened on Nov. 1.

The recipes have stayed the same since they were originally from Luz and Roberto’s mother and grandmother. The one change that had to take place was the name of the business, which switched from Poco Loco to El Poco Loco. Changing the name was the easier route since Luz’s business license was for the former restaurant’s name, Katherine Martinez explained.

“Our entire family is in that business now. Our entire family, my daughter, his mom comes in, my husband is there all the time, we’re all there,” Katherine Martinez said. “So Luz has left us quite a blessing as well. It’s brought our family together in such a beautiful way.”

A month before Luz died, the family took an unexpected camping trip and during the trip, Luz expressed some ways he wanted to keep the family tight.

“So that was kind of meant to be,” Roberto Martinez said of the time he spent with his brother.

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