New food cart brings Chinese buffet fare to Woodburn

Published 5:00 am Wednesday, July 9, 2025

The Lot-Highway 99E food cart hub now offers a new cuisine: Chinese food.

Elephant Express opened up shop in Woodburn two weeks ago, and since then has been drawing a steady crowd of customers.

The cart is owned by Mercedes Ahumada, who previously owned and operated Ricardo’s Taqueria, a taco truck in Portland. After selling her old cart, Ahumada recently relocated to Woodburn to start this new venture.

“It’s been good. The first day we weren’t expecting as many people, but they came,” Ahamada said. “They’re excited. People are like we needed this in Woodburn: Chinese food and easy buffet style. We have everything steaming and ready to go.”

Located in Woodburn’s industrial zone just off Highway 99E, The Lot is home to 11 food carts offering everything from Thai, Mexican and Indian foods to boba tea and street snacks. Elephant Express is now adding to the lot’s variety with classic, crowd-pleasing Chinese dishes served buffet-style.

At Elephant’s, customers can choose from a $12 or $14 plate and pile on options like orange chicken, Mongolian beef, Kung Pao chicken, spring rolls, cream cheese wontons, dumplings, fried rice, lo mein and more. As long as the plate can close, Ahumada will pile on endless selections to your meal.

Fried items, such as salt and pepper shrimp and wings, can also be made to order to add to the plates, and Ahumada recommends calling ahead to reduce wait times.

Ahumada’s husband and now business partner, Juvencio Montiel, cooks all the food at Elephant Express. He brings 20 years of experience cooking Chinese cuisine at restaurants, and he’s now fulfilling a longtime dream of running his own kitchen.

Elephant’s is a bang for your buck, with free sodas included with meals. The food is clean, simple and balanced, not too oversauced or spiced.

So far, Ahumada has been pleased with business; she says she has had a few returning customers and received a lot of positive feedback from the community.

“I thought it was going to go slow because when I had my Mexican food, I started with selling like one burrito a day,” Ahumada said. “It definitely didn’t go as fast as it is right now with the Chinese food, and I think it’s because this is the first cart like this here, and people are excited for variety.”

Ahumada hopes to add a small covered seating area for her customers to stay dry during the winter and possibly cool off with air conditioning during warmer months. She also added that the lot’s owner has plans to create a central eating area in the hub at the end of the summer.

With future upgrades in store and new cuisine, The Lot food cart hub continues to grow into a hotspot for diverse food options in Woodburn.