DOWAGIAC — Residents looking for authentic Mexican ingredients to add to their favorite recipes will no longer have to leave town to find them, thanks to a new grocery store located just outside of downtown Dowagiac.

Tienda y Taqueria Del Rey opened this weekend at 105 Sheldon St., Dowagiac. Currently, the space serves as a Mexican grocery store, which sells Mexican and Hispanic items, fresh produce and other grocery staples. Eventually, a Mexican restaurant will open in the space.

“We have a little bit of everything,” said Idalia Blanco. “This is something my parents have always wanted to do, have a store with a restaurant because they know that when people come out to eat, they want to buy their groceries as well, or vice versa. It’s like a one-stop shop.”

Taqueria Del Rey, a popular Mexican restaurant owned Reynaldo Blanco and operated with his wife, Maria, and daughter, Idalia, opened in May 2017 at 724 N. Front St. In December 2018, the restaurant closed as the owners decided to search for a newer, larger space to accommodate its growing customer base.

“We looked for almost an entire year,” Idalia said. “[This building] is just spacious, and there is space for everything.”

However, the building does have one flaw: it does not have a kitchen already built. Currently, the Blancos are working on putting a kitchen into the building so that they can reopen the restaurant portion of Tienda y Taqueria Del Rey. Though there is no definitive timeline set for the opening of the restaurant, Idalia said that her family hopes to open the restaurant before the end of the year.

Though it will still be months until the restaurant is open, the Blanco family said they are excited to be back operating a business in Dowagiac through their new grocery store, which carries many items that the restaurant will use in its cooking.

Reynaldo said he is happy to finally be in the building after months without a place to run his business and that he is glad to see the customers that have already come into the store to support his family. Maria added that she is grateful to be in the new space.

Idalia said she would encourage the public to come to Tienda y Taqueria Del Rey to check out the new grocery store and to support the business until the restaurant can open.

“This is a family owned store, so when you come here, you know you are supporting a family,” she said. “I hope everyone comes and checks it out. There really is a little bit of everything, and we always try our best.”