Minutes before El Amigo Pepe officially opened at 226 E. Main St., business owners Jose and Ana Mendez whipped up a batch of fresh guacamole in the kitchen. While Jose chopped jalapenos, Ana added fresh tomatoes to a blender.

“We are a little nervous, but excited,” Jose said.

The family-operated restaurant offers dine-in and take-out orders, featuring fresh authentic Mexican food, including a variety of tacos, burritos and platters, in addition to vegetarian items and burgers.

The restaurant, which seats 49, opened at 11 a.m. Within minutes of opening, a customer arrived. 

First in line was Traci Gordon, of Niles, who was treated to a free meal for being the first to order. 

Gordon has been a longtime customer, who first patronized El Amigo Pepe when it first opened in 2004. When the restaurant closed in 2015 and operated solely as a concessions trailer, Gordon was among the loyal customers tracking the food truck to get her fix of Mexican food.

Standing in the restaurant, Gordon said she liked the location.

“It is beautiful,” Gordon said. “I really like the lights.”

Gordon ordered a taco salad with a side of chips and guacamole.

“Their guacamole is to die for,” Gordon said. “The food is authentic. It is always, always good.”

Gordon was not the sole customer for long.

By 11:15 a.m., nearly every table was full. Like Gordon, many of the customers dining at El Amigo had been longtime fans who were devastated when the restaurant closed.

“We literally cried when they announced they were closing and we cried again when they opened the truck,” said Kiah Weaver, of Buchanan.

Weaver’s friend, Sarah Long, of Buchanan, is also a loyal customer. 

“We were there on the first day when the truck opened and the owner said, ‘where have you been? You were late,’” Long said.

The friends said they work in Niles and expect to make El Amigo a regular stop.

Besides the authentic food, Long said she likes how welcome she always feels when visiting the business.

“They always make us feel like family,” Long said. “They remember you. I would walk up to the truck and [Jose] would be like, ‘the usual?’”

Both said they liked the new restaurant space, especially the downtown location, making it a convenient drive or walk away.

At a table across the restaurant, Bob Cooper, of Niles, ate lunch with his family, Michelle and Miranda Cooper.

“We have been big fans of [their] food for years,” Bob said. “He’s [Jose] has always had amazing food. I said, ‘when are you going to open another place?’”

Cooper used to operate B and M Car Care and first met Jose while fixing one of his delivery trucks. Soon a friendship formed and Bob and his family have been enjoying El Amigo Pepe’s food ever since.

For the past couple of months, the Cooper family has been watching the restaurant’s social media page, eagerly awaiting opening day.

“This is home away from home,” Bob said.

The restaurant also drew people from over the state line to enjoy a lunch of authentic Mexican food.

Kara and Dave Jacobs traveled from South Bend, after hearing Thursday that the restaurant would be opening.

“I like this location,” Dave said. “It gives the downtown some new flavor.”

On Facebook, customers also expressed their excitement at the restaurant opening.

“Back by popular demand,” one remarked, among many other comments.