Tacos el Rey finds more space, comfort in new site

Eatery feels established after 10 years

Don't be alarmed — Tacos el Rey is still offering authentic Mexican food fit for a king.

It's just doing it from a new location.

The restaurant, formerly located at 1102 W. Broadway Ave. , is now calling 317 W. Broadway Ave., " hogar." (That's Spanish for "home.")

The restaurant made the move June 3, because customers had requested a larger, more comfortable place, owner Guadalupe Garcia said, with son and worker Martin Garcia acting as translator.

The family-run restaurant first opened in Moses Lake in 1994. Guadalupe said that there are nine different Tacos el Rey establishments throughout the Northwest, each owned by a different member of the Garcia family.

"We were always looking to open a new business in Washington," she said.

With the new place, Martin said, the business hired eight new employees to work alongside family members. The move took about five to six months for the remodel of the building.

"She feels more open to make more new stuff," he said of his mother. Part of that comes from a larger kitchen.

"I think there's a need (for our restaurant) because our style of cooking is very different from other restaurants," Guadalupe said. "It also has attracted a lot of people from out of town."

Nor have Tacos el Rey's customers abandoned them.

"People are still looking for us and asking us where we moved," Martin said.

Guadalupe said that the business had struggled ten years ago to establish a consistent site for its taco truck, which still stands individually on Broadway, across from the Department of Licensing.

"From there we were just wanting to grow," she said.

Martin and Guadalupe said that the name of the business, which means "The King Tacos," comes from its origin in Yakima about 12 years ago.

"We were always requested from people, so what my uncles did was just call it, 'The King of the Kitchen,'" Martin explained. "That's always stayed."