After spending the last several years serving bacon and fried eggs, burgers and other traditional American fare, Railway Café owners Nicole Tienda and Larry Stack are looking to offer local diners a different flavor — one found south of the border.

The Decatur couple recently announced plans to open a second restaurant in Dowagiac, in the former Foodies storefront on Front Street downtown. The new business is tentatively named A Taste of Mexico: La Tienda, and will feature a variety of authentic Mexican dishes on its menu.

While the menu is still in the early stages of development, Tienda said she is hoping to serve staples of contemporary Mexican eateries, such as tamales and fajitas, along with traditional dishes, including carnitas, chilaquiles, barbacoa, gorditas, sopes and more.

“I want to keep the menu simple, with plenty of traditional recipes,” Tienda said.

She is also looking to sell Mexican groceries in the restaurant, including tortillas, spice blends and salsas, as well as Mexican candies and soft drinks.

“[Customers] can get a taste of traditional Mexican cooking here, and then they can try to recreate it on their own at home,” Tienda said.

Tienda and Stack, who have owned and operated the Railway Café for two years, have considered opening a second restaurant for a while now, Tienda said. While they initially considered opening a second Railway restaurant in Lawton, they instead decided to look into opening a Mexican restaurant in Dowagiac, due mainly to customer request.

“I have heard a lot of people say they don’t want to drive all the way to Sister Lakes for Mexican, and that they wished a restaurant would open up here in town,” Tienda said.

Tienda has experience working in Mexican restaurants, having helped her former brother-in-law open El Sol Azteca in St. Joseph around five years ago, she said.

The former home of Foodies, which closed in February 2015, looked to be the perfect spot for the new business, Tienda said. The couple worked since late November to acquire the space, finally closing on the purchase two weeks ago.

The new owners will begin working on transforming the space this week, Tienda said. The new décor and aesthetics will have an “upscale, traditional Mexican” vibe when finished, she said.

The couple hopes to have the new restaurant open by June 1. They plan on offering lunch and dinner service Mondays through Saturdays.

“We want people to enjoy some good food, be happy and go home full,” Tienda said.