Reynosa entrepreneur finds new growth in Korean corn dogs after closing hardware business

REYNOSA, Tamaulipas — When five major oil and gas customers left the Mexican border city, Norberto Cruz Johansen’s hardware business went with them.

But the 30-year-old electronic engineer didn’t stop there.

About 10 months after closing his hardware store in 2025, Cruz Johansen moved into food trucks. Then the Korean corn-dog concept followed, eventually developing into Banderillas Coreanas Buck’s, which opened a brick and mortar location last week at Puerta Grande Plaza Salmo 91 in Reynosa.

For Cruz Johansen, the transition was less about recovering from a failed venture than remaining open to whatever opportunity came next.

“I’ve never been an employee,” he said. “I’ve always pursued a dream of creating an impact in the world and in society, and I’m fighting for that.”

He described his earlier ventures that eventually closed as stepping stones that created room to pursue something new.

From food trucks to a storefront

The Korean corn-dog concept became that next opportunity.

Cruz Johansen said it took about 11 months from the concept’s first appearance to the opening of the Puerta Grande location.

But the storefront does not mean Buck’s is leaving its mobile roots behind. 

The business continues to operate its food trucks alongside the new location, giving it two ways to reach customers.

The expansion was privately financed, although Cruz Johansen declined to disclose the investment.

His mother, Maricruz Johansen, joined him as a partner in the new location, turning the venture into a family business. Buck’s currently employs eight people.

“I started it, and my mom joined the project,” Cruz Johansen said.

Building around the customer

Buck’s specializes in Korean corn dogs, a street-food concept popularized in Korea that typically combines a sausage or cheese filling with a yeast-based batter and panko coating.

The business offers versions made with sausage, mozzarella cheese, or a combination of both. Customers can customize them with toppings including Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, Doritos, Ruffles, Takis, potatoes, jalapeño, and ramen.

Cruz Johansen said the mozzarella version topped with Flamin’ Hot Cheetos is among the most requested.

But the business is trying to differentiate itself through more than its menu.

“Our priority is customer satisfaction,” Cruz Johansen said.

That includes focusing on service, presentation, product quality, promotions, and collaborations. The business has also worked with other local entrepreneurs on promotions designed to bring customers back and introduce more people to the brand.

Building again

Cruz Johansen says Buck’s is still in its early stages, but the Puerta Grande location gives the family business another platform from which to grow.

So far, that growth has been privately financed, but Cruz Johansen remains open to learning about government programs and other opportunities that could help the business expand more quickly.

For now, his strategy is to maintain both sides of the operation: the flexibility of the food trucks and the presence of a permanent storefront.

The approach allows Buck’s to grow without abandoning the model that helped launch it. For Cruz Johansen, it also represents another chapter in his entrepreneurial path — one in which the end of one business created room to build another.