In 1973, Raymundo and Esther Garcia looked to their future and decided to open a restaurant. After managing El Farolito in East Chicago for several years, and they felt they could do it again. When the former Igloo ice cream shop on the 900 block of Hoffman became available, they immediately purchased the property.

A total gutting of that facility was followed by a new sign, tables, chairs, kitchen equipment, and a lastly, a new name. El Taco Real (also known as ‘The Real Taco’) was born on April 1, 1974. The Garcias innovation in the Mexican restaurant industry was to make traditional, from scratch Mexican cuisine, accessible to every ethnic group in the region. And they succeeded.

In a few years, El Taco Real expanded and the property to the east was purchased and razed to make room for an additional dining room, new bathroom facilities and warehousing. A coach house on the property was eventually taken down and a bar room was added and finally the home to the north of the restaurant was purchased and demolished to add additional parking.

El Taco Real has enjoyed great success for many decades, winning local, regional, and national awards and features from Chicago Magazine, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, The Times, The Compass, and many others.  We have also won the “Best of the Region” in the best Mexican restaurant category every year since the inception of the contest spanning over two decades.

Over the years, as population centers have shifted south, there has been a great deal of economic pressure to move El Taco Real and leave the ‘old parts of town’.  We have steadfastly avoided this temptation, and instead has opted to stay in our original location and continue to serve the community as a destination restaurant.

The legacy spans nearly 50 years and of thousands of meals served, hundreds of employees and their families supported, and a dedication to the city of Hammond, and to our home, the Tree Streets Neighborhood.