Welcome to National Tamales Day. If you live in the Yakima Valley you live in the home of Felipe Hernandez who first opened  Los Hernandez Tamales in the fall of 1990 in Union Gap - little did he know the impact the business would have for Union Gap and the Yakima Valley.

YOU'RE GOING TO BE EATING THE BEST TAMALES AVAILABLE

In 2018 the tamales made a national appearance by winning a major award. In 2018 Los Hernandez Tamales won the prestigious James Beard Award, honored as one of America’s Classics, something many already knew here in the Yakima Valley.

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THE KEY TO  GREAT TAMALES? THE MASA!

Officials with Los Hernandez Tamales say one of the secrets to their tamales is the masa. They say they mill their masa from only certain varieties of dried corn. Each tamale is then prepared by spreading freshly made masa on the corn husk and adding the appropriate filling.  A news release says what started as a way to create a job in 1990 has grown into a huge success story that thousands get to experience every day.

TWO LOCATIONS FOR YOU TO ENJOY FOR LUNCH OR DINNER

In 1990 the Union Gap Store was opened. It's located at 3706 Main Street in Union Gap.
A second Los Hernandez Tamales was opened in the spring of 2019 in Yakima. That restaurant is located at 6411 West Nob Hill Blvd.
The business is very much a family business, with Felipe & June Hernandez as owners, their daughter Rachel manages the restaurant locations and her husband Dion Wilburn manages the production facility.
Stop by for lunch or grab some tamales for dinner on this National Tamales Day.

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