KALAMAZOO, MI --

One of the hottest food trends is coming to Kalamazoo when the Peruvian restaurant,

, opens in mid-February.

Hernan Varillas-Guzman, 66, and his wife, Silvia Estacion-Fernandez, 54, will be the co-owners of the new restaurant at 563 N. Drake Road. The couple retired and moved from Lima, Peru, to Vicksburg to be closer to their children, Andrea and Silvia Varillas, who moved here a few years prior, and their grandchildren.

El Inka Peruvian Restaurant

What:

New restaurant to open in mid-February

Where:

563 N. Drake Road

Hours:

11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday

Contact:

269-978-2400

Silvia Varillas said her parents -- her mother is a retired school teacher and her father is a retired lawyer -- decided to get out of retirement after receiving some surprising news not long after moving to Kalamazoo.

“They both retired about seven years ago and they moved up here to be with the grandkids and everything. Then, all of a sudden, my mom got pregnant. Now they have to continue to work," Silvia Varillas said.

With their daughter now in school, the couple plans to open a restaurant that reflects the cuisine of Peru. The family believes El Inka will be the only Peruvian restaurant in Michigan.

For years, many members of the family drove to Chicago to eat dinner at a Peruvian restaurant there.

"We’d get everyone together at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. We all would get ourselves into cars, drive out there and have food. It would be an eight or nine hour dinner," she said.

The family talked about getting into the restaurant business for the last couple years, but decided to make it a reality last February.

Peruvian food is one of the latest trends. USA Today and the Bloomberg News are among major media outlets to recently highlighted the cuisine as an up-and-comer in the culinary world.

“It is a lot of Italian, China, Greek and German food all together," Silvia Varillas said.

Ceviche, typically fresh raw fish marinated in citrus juices and spiced with chili peppers, is the most popular Peruvian dish.

El Inka plans to make a couple vegetarian versions including one using Andean Beans from the Andes Mountains, Silvia Varillas said.

The family is putting its emphasis on Pollo a la Brasa, or Peruvian rotisserie chicken or blackened chicken.

The family spent about $18,000 to have its rotisserie oven shipped from Peru. It cost more than the family planned due to it being delayed at sea during the government shutdown in October. The oven uses charcoal and infarred gas to cook the chicken, which is marinated in regional spices for 24 hours.

"It's delicious. It's so addictive," Silvia Varillas said. "It's very peppery, but it's not hot."

Varillas said everything will be made from scratch, including down to the broth, mayonnaise and salsa.

It will also serve sandwiches, sides salads, entrees and more. The owners also plan to deliver.

The small space is located near La Pinata and the Hallmark store off Drake Road.

Decorations from the family's homes adorn the walls of the space formerly occupied by a Quiznos. A Peruvian flag also hangs on the wall dividing the kitchen from the dining area. A handmade paneled painting from the Nazca lines -- a series of ancient geoglyphs, or artwork made moving rocks or the landscape, located in the Nazca Desert in southern Peru -- was a wedding gift for Silvia Varillas.

A doll wearing the traditional clothes of Peru also adds a splash of color to the space.

The restaurant will also carry Inka Kola, a popular Peruvian pop that tastes like a banana cream soda.

The business will be open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.

If the restaurant does well, the family said it would consider expanding to other markets.

"Their dream is to open several of these around Michigan and have our 5-year-old sister take care of them" when she's older, Silvia Varillas said.

For more information, call 269-978-2400 or

or

.

John Liberty covers entertainment for the Kalamazoo Gazette. Call him at 269-370-7372, email him at jlibert1@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter.