Beloved Taqueria El Rey to Resurrect With a Food Truck, New Location Downriver

Detroiters far and wide were devastated by the news January that southwest Detroit stalwart Taqueria El Rey had been destroyed by a fire. Well, it looks like the beloved Mexican restaurant will have a new life, this time as a food truck on an empty lot at 24th and Vernor Highway which is also currently used by the Tres Leches and Snacks truck, followed by a new brick and mortar location at 1715 Fort St. in Lincoln Park (formerly Taqueria El Paisa Mexican Restaurant).

Melissa Fuentes, the daughter of owner Eliseo Fuentes, told Eater on Monday, Sept. 13, that the family is working to launch the food truck sometime around Thanksgiving. She says it’s not clear yet when the Lincoln Park location will be ready to open. In the meantime, the taqueria has been operating Monday and Tuesday evenings at Batch Brewing Company at 1400 Porter and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future, she says.

The Fuentes family was alerted to a fire that broke out in the restaurant’s original location, 4730 Vernor, on the morning of Jan. 29. No one was injured, but much of the interior was damaged beyond repair. Immediately following the blaze, a crowdfund campaign was initiated, raising more than $30,000. In March, Taqueria El Rey began running its twice-a-week pop-up at Batch Brewing as the family worked to determine its next steps.

Melissa Fuentes said that the family has no plans to reopen the original location, which remains boarded up.