Family-owned Mexican restaurant opens in ‘Instagrammable’ space

A new family-owned restaurant taking a fresh approach to branding has debuted on South Division Avenue in Wyoming, offering traditional Mexican eats with an “Instagramable” atmosphere. 

Taquero Mucho, located at 3536 S. Division Ave. in the Godwin Heights neighborhood of Wyoming, opened on May 11, sporting an interior painted in shades of bright pink inspired by the owners’ love of food. 

It’s the first brick-and-mortar location for owners Rafael Caballero and Rosa Diaz-Salmeron, a married couple who started their business with two food trucks three years ago.

The 1,500-square-foot restaurant seats 50 customers for authentic Mexican fare, including a range of traditional breakfast items like beans and rice with chorizo and quesadillas with birria.

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“(We’re) keeping the home-cooked flavor in every dish,” said Alondra Diaz, the couple’s daughter who serves as social media and events manager for the restaurant and catering business. 

Diaz noted that while her parents have always been avid home chefs, they had always dreamed of opening their own restaurant. 

“It was just a comment that people would always bring up, like ‘You should open up a restaurant, it would be so nice.’ It just took a while for the stars to align,” she said.

Taquero Mucho started as a food truck in 2021, when Caballero bought a food truck and refurbished it. After the venture proved successful, he added a second truck in 2022. The two trucks provide catering for a range of events in the metro Grand Rapids area. 

From there, the business blossomed, and the Caballeros started looking for a space to lease and launch their first brick-and-mortar restaurant. 

“We looked at different places that were for rent, and they were just all way above our price range,” Diaz said. “The location where we’re at now, that opportunity came up, sort of like while we were least expecting it, and it was just too good an opportunity to give up.”
The building previously housed Taqueria El Mariachi, which moved to a new location on Eastern Avenue in late January this year. 

Shortly after Taqueria El Mariachi vacated the space, the Caballeros moved in, signing a one-year lease in February. 

Diaz said the restaurant needed “a lot of care,” including renovations to the bathrooms, new floors, walls and a fresh coat of paint, all of which was done by Rafael Caballero. 

“My dad’s put a lot of effort into (the restaurant),” Diaz said. 

Caballero serves as Taquero Mucho’s executive chef. The restaurant owes its bright pink aesthetic to his daughter, Alborada Caballero-Diaz,, who developed both the name and the pink branding for the business. 

“It’s very trendy right now having very ‘Instagrammable’ (space),” Diaz said, “It’s just very cute inside, very pink. (There’s) different places to take pictures if you want, or just to take pictures of your food.”

Meanwhile, Diaz said the restaurant has developed a following in just a few weeks of operation.  

“At first, we were (worried because) we don’t want people to come in and think that you have to be dressed up or something to come in here, but we very quickly broke that barrier during our lunch hours,” she said. “For example, there’s a lot of construction happening around the area. During our lunch hours, a lot of the workers come in, so that’s good to see. You don’t have to wear pink to come in here.”

Taquero Mucho currently has nine full-time employees to operate the two food trucks, restaurant and attend local farm markets like Fulton Street Farmers Market to serve food. Additionally, both Caballero, Diaz Salmeron and their daughters make all the tamales and beverages for the business. 

“It’s a family business through-and-through,” Diaz said. “In a lot of cultures, but especially the Mexican people’s culture, we share our love through food. It’s a love language, so it’s just something that’s sort of ingrained in our culture.”

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