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July 10, 2018

A Mexican restaurant owner from Sioux City is opening another location in the former Starz at The Bridges at 57th.

Rudy M. Navarrete’s Tex-Mexican Food plans to open in mid-August.

“I’m excited to come up,” Rudy Navarrete said. “I’ve always really liked Sioux Falls and wanted to have my own restaurant.”

Navarrete grew up in the industry. His grandmother started a restaurant in Sioux City in 1970 as a young widow with eight children.

“She ended up doing food as a means to pay the bills,” he said. “So I grew up around food.”

He began washing dishes when he was 10 and started his own catering venture at 18. He briefly had a restaurant in North Sioux City before partnering with his father on a location in Sioux City, Rudy Navarrete’s Mexican Food.

When his grandmother began the business, there was barely any Hispanic population in the area, so her menu was ground beef, beans and rice.

“So everyone felt comfortable,” he said. “Since then, we’ve adapted and added steak and chicken and pork.”

The menu will be similar to the Sioux City location, which serves entrees such as enchiladas, burritos, salads and entomatadas, which are corn or flour tortillas filled with a choice of meat and cheese and then topped with tomato sauce, onions and cheese.

He plans to apply for a beer and wine license and is making some updates to the property, although he said it doesn’t need much work. Starz closed at the end of 2017.

“The building is awesome. I love the location,” Navarette said.

He plans to hold several soft-opening events for a designated charity and to hold fundraisers for nonprofits, which he said he enjoys doing in Sioux City.

“I plan to be part of the community rather than just being a business owner,” he said.