It's a real family affair at Bemidji's new Tapatios Mexican Restaurant
Sep. 9—BEMIDJI — Ruben Aceves II, the owner and head cook at the newly opened Tapatios restaurant in Bemidji, says his specialty isn't one of the menu items.
"My specialty is working," Aceves said with a laugh. "We knew it would be a lot of work to open our restaurant."
Aceves and his wife, Cecilia, opened their business at 1204 Paul Bunyan Drive NW last weekend after nearly a year of preparation. The three oldest of their five children — Ruben III (22), Brian (20) and Jonathan (18) — are also heavily involved, as is Ruben III's wife, Sarah. Younger children Michael (14) and Vanessa (11) are enrolled in Bemidji schools.
Ruben II and Cecilia grew up on the same street in the Mexican city of Guadalajara, Jalisco, where the locals are nicknamed Tapatios.
They left Mexico when their oldest son was a baby and moved to Illinois in 1999, where Ruben II joined his sister working at a Mexican restaurant. That's where he honed his cooking skills, although he said he learned some things from his mother back in Guadalajara.
In 2009, the growing family moved to Minnesota to open their own restaurant, Little Fiesta, in Little Falls. They sold it in 2020, and after spending a short time in Texas, they started looking for a new restaurant location in the northern states.
"We did not like Texas," Cecilia said. Too hot. So we decided to come back to Minnesota."
When they passed through Bemidji on their quest for a new location, they decided this was the place for them.
"We saw the beautiful lake and we loved this town immediately," Cecilia said. "We wanted to wait for the perfect place to name our restaurant Tapatios."
Jonathan agreed, saying, "I mostly liked Bemidji because of the beauty. It's in the middle of the woods. It's very scenic. You just have to be careful of the deer."
The restaurant currently seats about 55 customers and has been very busy in its first week with people lining up out the door at some points during the dinner rush. The owners hope to add patio seating next year.
It's open seven days a week, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
For more information and to see the full menu, visit
