The In Tin
A slew of artisanal upstarts have changed the tinned fish game, but there’s one L.A. couple serving up true Spanish vibes with their conservas.
By Stephanie Ganz
Photos by Julia Stotz
Prop styling by Ruth Kim
Food styling by Caroline Hwang
When Lucia Flors and Carlos Leiva came to the U.S. from Spain in 2010, they hadn’t planned on staying. But after meeting as radiology residents in Valencia, they decided the opportunity to deepen their specialization in the States was too great. The physicians landed in Virginia, then moved to Missouri—and quickly realized some of the things they missed most about their home country: the Spanish flavors of peak-quality seafood that comes packed in tins, known as conservas.
“Our luggage would be full of conservas,” Flors says, about their trips back from visiting family in Spain. But in their new home, their beloved tinned seafood wasn’t always an easy sell. “Our friends wouldn’t want to eat [the mussels],” Flors says with a laugh. “Especially the Americans. They were like, ‘What is this?’”
Still, the void that emerged “as the last tin was savored,” Flors says, is what inspired the couple to create their own line of conservas. In 2019 they moved to Los Angeles, and shortly after began to finally bring their idea to fruition. Conservas weren’t all they missed being in America, though. In Spain, the siesta is a daily ritual of repose, emblematic of the culture’s emphasis on slowing down and enjoying life—a feeling they wanted their line of conservas to capture. They launched Siesta Co. in 2022.
Most of Siesta’s seafood—white tuna, sardines, mackerel—is packed in extra-virgin olive oil; the mussels come in a classic Spanish escabeche, and tuna belly gets a modern twist with tart yuzu koshō seasoning. It’s sourced from the waters of Galicia, a region of Spain shaped by the twin traditions of fishing and canning. Each tin is hand-packed using centuries-old methods, like salt-curing anchovies for six to eight months. “It’s the honest simplicity and the commitment to excellence we cherish in Spanish food,” says Flors, happy to share it in the place they now call home. Especially since palates (and canned-seafood sentiments) have changed—these days, even the mussels are a hit.
