LOGANSPORT — Teodora Vital says operating La Doña taco stand is her family’s livelihood.

“This is the only thing she wants to do,” said Carrie Ruel-Flores, a translator for El Puente. “This is her calling, her job. This is the way she lives. She wants to do everything better everyday.”

Vital owns the business with her husband, Alejandro Carbajal.

According to Vital, the business has been operating from a temporary stand for four and a half years during warm weather.

The family would like to make the stand a more permanent fixture.

“We are interested in safety, security and making it look nicer,” Vital said.

The business has until Oct. 1 to transform the trailer now on the site into a more permanent structure.

Tom LaDow, president of the Downtown Development Review Board, said the board had been working with the couple to accomplish that goal. One hurdle, he said, is that mobile homes are not allowed in the downtown business district.

“They brought in a plan, and we’re trying to make it a non-mobile home,” he said. “We want to make it a fixed station with proper water and restrooms.”

To accomplish that, the wheels had to come off and the trailer had to be set on a foundation. The structure also couldn’t be wrapped in aluminum siding.

“Once they agreed to those conditions, it was approved,” LaDow said. “Personally it looks slow going right now, but they do have a time line and they are aware of the time line.”

LaDow said the business owners were given until Oct. 1 because they were doing all the work themselves.

“It is kind of a tough project they have going on,” he said. “It is not something they can do overnight.”

Arin Shaver, assistant director for the city-county planning department, said  plans for the site included a triangular wooden deck furnished with picnic tables and a foundation made of brick.

The structure will also have wooden siding and a shingle roof.

Grass will be planted and a parking lot area will wrap around the side and rear of the building. Landscaping will be added along North and Sixth streets.

Shaver said that the plans for landscaping and parking had not yet been approved, but she said they would need to be once the building and deck were finished.

“The problem right now is with the water and sewage lines,” she said.

The owners have the trailer sitting where they hope it will remain, but they need to make sure the lines will work with that location. The area torn up behind the trailer is where the sewage and water lines are located.

The structure was placed closer to the streets, Shaver said, to meet city standards.

Vital believes the location is perfect for her business.

“A lot of people are coming to and from other towns, and they see it,”

she said. “It’s a very good commercial location.”

According to Shaver, the restaurant owners are not allowed to cook inside the building until the project is complete.

For now, Vital and Carbajal are using a white tent and outdoor cart, as they have in the past. They plan on getting rid of those, as soon as the building is finished.

Victor Cervantes, a customer of the stand ever since it opened, thinks the changes will improve the location.

“I think it will make everything here look nice,” he said.

Vital said having a permanent structure would allow the business to remain open year round, and she hopes the new appearance will draw more customers.

With the new structure, Vital plans to expand her menu options to include enchiladas and fajitas in addition to the current tacos, sandwiches and burritos. She looks forward to completing the project.

“So we can continue working to survive,” she said.

• Denise Massie is a staff writer at the Pharos-Tribune. She can be reached at 574-732-5151 or denise.massie@pharostribune.com.