Mark & Marissa Gencarelli

Marissa and Mark Gencarelli are the husband-and-wife founders of Yoli Tortilleria, the Kansas City maker of stone-ground heirloom-corn tortillas that in 2023 became the first tortilleria recognized by the James Beard Foundation — winning the award for Outstanding Bakery.

Biography

Marissa Gencarelli grew up in Ciudad Obregón, in southern Sonora, Mexico, before moving to the United States for college; her husband Mark Gencarelli is from Leawood, Kansas.¹ In 2017 the couple began crafting their own tortillas, founding Yoli Tortilleria and quickly drawing wholesale orders; in the summer of 2020 they opened a Westside retail storefront at 17th and Jefferson, while corn-tortilla production continued at their original East Bottoms facility.² The name “Yoli” comes from the Nahuatl word meaning “to live,” and honors Marissa’s late mother — an American who married a Mexican national and embraced the culture.³

Yoli makes its tortillas the traditional Mesoamerican way: whole heirloom, non-GMO corn kernels cooked with lime (the nixtamal process), steeped, and ground on volcanic stone, alongside Sonoran-style flour tortillas.³ In June 2023, Yoli won the James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Bakery — the first tortilleria ever nominated for a James Beard Award (a 2022 semifinalist before the 2023 win).⁴ The business has drawn national and international press, including Bon Appétit, BBC Travel, Travel + Leisure, Eater, and a full PBS tasteMAKERS episode.⁵

Legacy

The Gencarellis raised the national profile of the humble tortilla and of Kansas City’s Mexican food culture, demonstrating that a small, tradition-driven KC maker could earn the food world’s highest honor. Their James Beard win is among the most significant national culinary recognitions ever awarded to a Kansas City business.

See also

• yoli-tortilleria

Sources

Footnotes

1. “Mark & Marissa Gencarelli: The Art of the Authentic Tortilla,” HerLife Magazine Kansas City, June 2023 — Marissa from Ciudad Obregón, Sonora; Mark from Leawood, Kansas. ↩

2. “Yoli Tortilleria grinds success into perfect warm tortilla, opening retail experience in Westside,” Startland News, July 2020 — Marissa and Mark Gencarelli began crafting their own tortillas in 2017; the Westside retail operation opened at the corner of 17th and Jefferson in summer 2020; the brand outgrew its original East Bottoms production facility, which continues to focus on corn tortillas. See also “Westside tortilleria’s from-scratch corn creations earn prestigious James Beard nod,” Startland News, February 2022 — startlandnews.com ↩

3. “Our Story,” Yoli Tortilleria — the Nahuatl root meaning “to live”; the tribute to Marissa’s mother; heirloom non-GMO corn, the nixtamal process, volcanic-stone grinding, and Sonoran-style flour tortillas.`; the company’s own language is heirloom and non-GMO.] ↩ ↩²

4. “Yoli Tortilleria wins prestigious James Beard Award for ‘Outstanding Bakery,’” KCUR 89.3, June 5, 2023 — the 2023 win in a newly created category, accepted by Marissa and Mark Gencarelli at the Lyric Opera of Chicago; the 2022 semifinalist nod in Outstanding Baker; the first tortilla bakery nominated for a James Beard Award; Marissa’s acceptance speech on grieving her parents — “Baking became our therapy, a way to connect and honor my ancestors in the middle of North America.” Corroborated by the finalist announcement, “James Beard Awards name 2 finalists from Kansas City: Drastic Measures and Yoli Tortilleria,” KCUR, March 29, 2023 — kcur.org ↩

5. “Featured Press,” Yoli Tortilleria; and the encyclopedia entry “Yoli Tortilleria,” Wikipedia — en.wikipedia.org ↩