Taqueria Tacos El Cuñado serves authentic Mexican food, plans expansion

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Taqueria Tacos El Cuñado, located at 1342 Grandville Avenue SW, is serving up authentic tacos and Mexican cuisine. Humberto Alvarez, owner, says they are committed to serving fresh and homestyle Mexican food to members of the Grand Rapidian community. 

"We want people to know we are here," says Alvarez, "we have a strong Mexican clientele, but we'd love to have a wider variety of costumers come in for some tacos."

Every guest is served complimentary chips and salsa, both of which are made fresh daily, when they sit down. Then it's taco time. 

"The tacos are our most popular item; the authentic tacos are what we sell the most of," says Alvarez. 

Alvarez says that an authentic Mexican taco is topped with simply cilantro and onion - nothing else is needed when the meat is seasoned well.

"We serve different specialty meats on our tacos, all of which are common in traditional Mexican food," Alvarez says. 

A few of the meat options include carne asada (grilled steak), pollo (chicken), chorizo (Mexican sausage), tacos al pastor (marinated pork), and for the more daring costumers, cow tongue (lengua) and tripe (pig intestine). Alvarez says the tacos al pastor are the most ordered item.

Along with each taco served, so is a plate full of extra goodies. These side plates include an array of grilled onions, jalepeños, limes and radishes. 

If you are in the mood for something other than a taco, Tacos El Cuñado also offers a selection of tortas (Mexican sandwiches). They serve a wide variety of options, even a Hawaiian sandwich created with grilled steak, ham and pineapple.  

Tacos El Cuñado has been owned and operated by the Alvarez family for the past three years. They have been growing in business over this period and would like to be able accommodate more customers in the future. 

"We are planning to expand our business," says Alvarez, "we want to have a larger building in this location and hope to start that process within the year."

Alvarez enjoys the location of his restaurant on Grandville Avenue and is optimistic about the future of the Roosevelt Park neighborhood. 

"We hope to keep seeing positive changes in the neighborhood," says Alvarez, "we want there to be more opportunities for the residents and a safer environment. Organizations such as LINC are doing good work in this neighborhood and we support what they are doing."