David Galvan working at Temescal in December.
David Galvan, owner of the popular food truck Galvan’s Catering, which has been a mainstay on Temescal Canyon Road since 1999, died on February 21. David was 52.
He was born in the coastal town of Barra de Navidad in Jalisco, Mexico. His mother died when he was 9 and his father, a fisherman, often left David to care for his three younger siblings.
Galvan came to Southern California when he was 17 and found his first job at Hampton’s restaurant in Riverside. “They had good food,” he told Circling the News in 2020. From there he helped friends start Mama D’s, an Italian restaurant in Manhattan Beach, which is now a chain.
As he was trying to decide what the next stage of his life would be, Galvan read about a food truck for sale and purchased it—ironically, the truck had been based in Pacific Palisades, which is why this area became his second home, starting in 1999.
Shortly after that he met and married his first wife, Janet.
The following year, Galvan started a Christmas Eve tradition of giving out free food to his customers—and to anyone who stopped by. He continued this for 20 years, through 2020. All he asked was that people leave a tip in the jar for his workers.
Galvan leaves behind his wife, Adriana; a 10-year-old daughter, Xolash, and a 28 year-old son.
Resident Stephanie Cheng has organized a GoFundMe page for Galvan. If you can help with a donation, visit:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/david-galvan-memorial?qid=56e68acef6c0200c8037c111664ea9b7
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was offered on March 13 at St. Joseph Church in Hawthorne.