For months, customers who frequent the El Amigo Pepe concession trailer for its authentic Mexican food have begged the owners to re-open a restaurant.

Finally, the customers’ dreams have come true.

El Amigo Pepe business owners Ana and Jose Mendez announced that they will be opening a restaurant at 226 E. Main St. in what is commonly referred to as the “Thayer’s building.” They plan to have the restaurant open for business sometime in July.

The restaurant seats up to 49 people and will feature a variety of menu items, including burgers, Mexican food and vegetarian options.

A customer favorite is the burrito loco, a 15-inch taco shell stuffed with ground beef, chicken, steak, pork, Mexican sausage, rice, beans, vegetables, cheese and avocados.

The restaurant also offers homemade tortilla chips, salsa, guacamole and horchata.

Customers will be able to dine in or place an order to go.

Ana and Jose have more than 20 years of restaurant experience. Prior to working in Niles, the family had a restaurant in Michigan City.

With the help of their family, Ana and Jose have been able to grow their business in Niles. Each of their five children has served the business at some point. Their daughters, Gabriela Morales and Mayra Ortiz currently work as co-managers.

El Amigo Pepe got its start in Niles as a brick and mortar restaurant in 2004 at a location on Fifth Street downtown. The restaurant then moved to S. 11th Street, in the space currently occupied by Taqueria Don Chepe. At the time, the family was also operating a concession trailer. In November 2015, the family sold the building and said they decided to concentrate on running the concession’s trailer. 

“People literally cried,” said Morales in regards to the restaurant closing. 

Jose said one saddened customer came to the restaurant before it closed in 2015 and bought 15 burritos loco to stock and freeze.

During warmer months, the El Amigo Pepe concession’s trailer was available at select times in rotating parking lot locations. Rain or shine,  the family was greeted by a line of hungry customers.

Morales attributed her parents’ relationship with customers and their passion for cooking for helping them to achieve success in the industry.

“Our restaurant has always been based around our customers,” Morales said.

If a customer wants to try something different, the owners are often willing to make it for them. Additionally, after 12 years of feeding the Niles community, Jose and Ana have come to know their customers and create dishes that appeal to their individual taste.

The business also offers a menu that appeals to a variety of taste buds.

“They have unique menu and they try to bring in what comes from their background,” Morales said. “They cook because they love to cook. I think that brings something extra to the food.”

Jose and Ana both grew up in Mexico, where they found a passion for cooking while helping in the kitchen.

When Ana was 15 her family moved to the U.S. Jose’s family moved to the U.S. when he was 18.

“We were looking for a better life,” Ana said.

Their families earned a living working on the farms.

When Jose and Ana married, she said they started looking for a different way to support their family. The couple’s collective passion for cooking inspired their work in the industry.

Jose and Ana are considering hiring of four more employees to help with restaurant operations. Five employees help to run the business currently.

El Amigo Pepe currently has gigs booked for its food truck and catering services through September. During the winter, the family said they will focus solely on running the restaurant.

Customers who have heard the news about the restaurant have responded favorably and are eager for the family to open up the restaurant’s doors.

“You can’t not open a restaurant when you see the reactions customers are having to you being back,” Morales said. “It has been a great experience being in Niles.”