STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — Loco Taco Mexican Grill opened its doors at the end of January and has been serving customers hungry for authentic favorites including tacos, quesadillas, burritos and tortas without the wait.

“It’s authentic Mexican food,” owner David Gutierrez said. “People can order anything on the menu, and we will have their order ready in between five to 10 minutes.”

The restaurant is the latest venture for Gutierrez, who came to the U.S. from Chihuahua 21 years ago and has lived in Steamboat for the past 17. He also owns the nearby Steamboat Laundromat, Snow White carpet cleaning service and his own construction company.

“This is my first restaurant,” Gutierrez said. “I think we have a great location, and there are not that many places to eat on this side of town.”

Guiterrez said he keeps busy between construction and carpet cleaning jobs as well as making sure the laundromat is operating smoothly. Because of his busy schedule, he often eats out.

“I have a good understanding of what makes a good restaurant from the customer’s point of view,” he said. “I also have some good friends who have either owned or currently own restaurants.”

He said the menu, which includes a choice of meats including marinated pork (al pastor), steak (asada), pulled pork (carnitas), chicken (pollo) and fish (pescado) mostly reflects the northern part of Mexico where he is from.

“We have a simple menu,” Gutierrez said. “The food we have is pretty much like North Mexico-style. I mean, al pastor tacos, they come from Mexico City, but they’re super popular in the entire country.”

Gutierrez said he decided to get into the restaurant business after the space in front of his laundromat opened up early in 2020. He decided to renovate the space, add a kitchen and open the restaurant.

“I was working on it for almost a year,” Gutierrez said. “You know with COVID-19 and subcontractors and all that stuff it took forever to finally get the place done. We pretty much had to redo all the interior, and we put in a completely new kitchen.”

Loco Taco is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week. It is located in at 2179 Curve Plaza, next to Ace Hardware.