Tienda El Ranchito, a family-owned grocery store and restaurant in Fairmont City that’s beloved by local food-fanatics for its authentic Mexican fare, is expanding. Owner Gabriel Morales, who runs the business his parents opened 16 years ago, is adding on to the space at 2565 N. 32nd St.
The addition will enable seating for nearly 100 customers and will mean that the current dining room will swap places with the grocery store, which offers Mexican and Latin American fresh and packaged staples. The new dining room will also feature a full bar; up to this point, Tienda El Ranchito was only serving bottled beer.
Mark your calendar for June 24 and 25, when the Morales family will celebrate the Tienda El Ranchito renovation with a party, complete with a mariachi band. And while you’re there, be sure to try Tienda’s tamales, weekend specialties like caldo de siete mares (a Mexican seafood soup translated as “soup of seven seas”) or menudo (a spicy Mexican soup made from calf’s feet, tripe, green chiles, hominy and seasonings) or other authentic eats from Mexico’s state of Michoacán.
Tienda El Ranchito is open daily. The grocery store operates from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, opening at 9 a.m. and serving until 7:30 p.m. For more information, visit Tienda El Ranchito on Facebook.
— Photo by Ashley Gieseking
This article appears in June 2011.