Three Cheers For Spring Training’s Most Entertaining Hawker
Meet José Javier Moreno aka The Churros Guy. At the Peoria Sports Complex during spring training, he’s a crowd-pleasing MVP.
José Javier Moreno works the Peoria Sports Complex during spring training, hawking churros.
Back when he was a rookie
Moreno grew up in San Diego, so naturally he’s a diehard Padres fan. When he landed the job working spring training games back in 2016, he was given the choice of selling water, lemonade or churros.
“I picked churros because water and lemonade are so heavy,” he said in a recent phone interview.
Selling those treats was a bit of a slog until one day, a fan in the stands stopped him and asked him why he wasn’t rolling his R’s when calling out his wares. “I probably gave him a look, like what are you saying to me? because he apologized, saying he wasn’t intending a slur, but trying to help with sales. He told me to try it on my next go around the stadium and if it didn’t work, he’d buy whatever I had left.”
It worked. Soon, the stadium filled with the sound of “CHURRRRRRRROS!”
That word became a performance, a roving symphony. Not a huge surprise because Moreno is also a recording artist. (Are you listening American Idol?)
By 2020, Churro Guy became a viral sensation on social media. Then, the pandemic threw the planet a curveball.
“Yeah, that really stung,” he said.
But three years later, he’s back and bigger than ever. Fans ask the ushers where to find him. Just listen, they’re likely told. You can hear those rolling R’s across the stadium.
At the start of the season, teams from other stadiums around Phoenix begged him to come work at those ballparks. He politely declined. He’s very happy hawking at the home field for his Padres. (The stadium is also home field for the Seattle Mariners.)
His biggest challenge these days isn’t unloading his supply of churros. It’s explaining what they are to newbies. Hello, fried dough shaped a little bit like… yup, you guessed it… a bat!
“It’s been a pretty cool experience,” he said. “Everybody knows me, even some of the players.”
The rest of the year, this traveling vendor sells beer at stadiums around the nation, working for Event Management Solutions. “You make a lot more in tips selling beer, but I’m always going to sell churros at spring training.”
Hooray!
Sound on for this short video clip I shot in March 2020:
