After spending more than 15 years perfecting his craft at one of the region’s most popular Mexican restaurants, Dowagiac’s Reynaldo Blanco recently experienced the sweet taste of success by achieving his long sought dream of owning his own eatery.

Meanwhile, the rest of his neighbors in the Grand Old City have been experiencing the delicious tastes of the dishes flowing out of the kitchen of said eatery.

On Friday, Blanco joined his wife Maria and daughter Idalia to welcome customers to his new restaurant, Taqueria Del Rey, located at 724 N. Front St., Dowagiac. The chef serves authentic Mexican dishes for lunch and dinner seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays and 9:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on weekends.

Reynaldo — who is currently the sole cook working the back of the house — is serving a variety of taqueria standbys, including tacos, tortas, burritos, quesadillas and fajitas, made with steak, pork, chicken, beef tongue and Mexican sausage that Blanco prepares daily. The restaurant also offers specials Monday through Friday, as well as carnitas (fried pork) and barbacoa (steamed beef) tacos and dishes — Reynaldo’s specialty — on the weekends.

“Everything is made to order,” said Idalia, a recent Southwestern Michigan College graduate who is helping her mother manage the front of the house.

Practically every item on the menu is prepared on-site, including the tortilla chips, salsa and horchata, Idalia said.

For Reynaldo, who moved to Dowagiac with his family from Benton Harbor six years ago, the opening of Taqueria Del Rey fulfills a vision he first saw two years ago, when he first became interested in the Front Street property the restaurant now occupies. A self-taught chef who has been tinkering in the kitchen since he was 10 years old, Reynaldo has spent the last 16 years cooking for the popular La Perla restaurant in Benton Harbor, where Maria also worked as a waitress.

“People have always known he was good cook, and opening his own restaurant was something he has wanted to for years,” Idalia said. “A few months ago, we finally decided to do it.”

After spending several months renovating the space, the Blanco family received word that the restaurant had passed its health inspection on Thursday — prompting Reynaldo to decide to open for business the following day.

In spite of the short notice, Idalia pushed out the opening day information through the restaurant’s Facebook page. Word of the opening spread quickly, with customers packing the restaurant from lunch through dinner. The demand was so great that the kitchen ran out of food 40 minutes before the scheduled closing time.

“I was a little nervous,” Idalia said. “I know my dad is a great cook, but I didn’t know what the demand would be like here. Needless to say, we are happy about the response.”

Business has remained strong ever since, with many of the family’s old customers from La Perla now becoming regulars of the new restaurant, which for many is a lot closer to home, Idalia said.

While the staff currently consists of just the Blanco clan, Idalia said the family is looking to bring on some additional help in the near future to keep up with the strong demand.

For additional information people may contact the restaurant at (269) 782-9912 or via Facebook at facebook.com/taqueriadelrey269.