The popular St. Helens and Rainier locations draw hungry customers from throughout the area.

Humbles beginnings that stretch back to rural Mexico are at the heart of the El Tapatio chain of restaurants, including the location in St. Helens.

What began 30 years ago as a one-man operation now boast 16 locations in the Portland area, as well as a restaurant in Boise, Idaho, that operates under the moniker El Rancho Viejo.

“We work very hard to make my uncle proud of his restaurant,” Estela Alcazar, manager of the St. Helens location, said of Efren Guitron, founder of the restaurant chain. “Before starting El Tapatio he began his restaurant career as a dishwasher in a Mexican restaurant in Seattle. He worked really hard to observe and learn everything he needed to open his restaurant.”

Guitron, a native of Jalisco, Mexico, migrated to the United States in 1970, then traveled north to work in a small Mexican restaurant in Seattle owned by a relative who introduced recipes from his hometown in Mexico.

“(Guitron) learned the unique recipe base, which would underpin the success of the first El Tapatio that opened in Milwaukie in the fall of 1980,” the restaurant’s website said, adding that the original location sported only 10 tables.

The St. Helens location of the restaurant opened in 1994. Opening of the Rainier location came in 2002; that location is managed by Alberto Navarro.

“At the time we decided to open a location in St. Helens it was a small community, so we saw it as a family dining room bringing families together with our traditional recipes, not a sit-down Mexican restaurant,” Alcazar said.

Operating in a small community has many plusses, Navarro added.

“One huge advantage is that you have the opportunity to really get to know your community to the point they become family,” he said.

Alcazar concurred, saying “We have had generations of family members come through our doors and watch their children grow up and have their own children. Customers we haven’t seen in years come back to visit St. Helens, and they make it a point to stop by and dine with us and we pick up as if they never left.”

Hometown cooking is at the heart of El Tapatio’s success.

“We use Grandma’s special recipes that make our food taste and feel like homemade cooking with your familia,” Alcazar said. “I love working at El Tapatio because of the staff who make it an enjoyable workday and the customers who we come to see as family. But the best part of working at El Tapatio is the time we take to make our food. You have to dedicate some special time to cooking fine dishes and use the best and freshest ingredients.”

El Tapatio in St. Helens is located at 2105 Columbia Blvd. Hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and noon to 10 p.m. Sunday. Don’t miss Taco Tuesdays, with $1.99 tacos 3-10 p.m. every Tuesday.

El Tapatio Restaurants

2105 Columbia Blvd., Saint Helens

503-397-1465

eltapatiooregon.com

El Tapatio is a popular Mexican restaurant that also provides catering, Sunday brunch and features a cantina.

Best restaurant in St. Helens

Gold: Best Mexican restaurant

Gold: Best cocktails

Gold: Best margarita

Silver: Best happy hour