It's not what this Massachusetts family ever thought would happen when they took over a long-running Mexican restaurant: to make it in America. But their authenticity and love for food helped catapult their new business to become one of Yelp's top-rated places to eat in the country.
A band of brothers share a passion for Mexican food and offer a daily serving of their culture in their small establishment on Willow Street in Waltham. When you walk inside, if it's not already obvious by the music or the décor, surely, once you smell what's cooking, you know Taqueria El Amigo is where one comes for a slice of Mexico.
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"We're the spicy that sometimes life needs!" co-owner Omar Timoteo said.
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Omar is one of four Mexican brothers who, in their late teens, were brought to America by their father. Years later they came to own the now-famous restaurant.
El Amigo has been a friend to the Greater Boston area for more than 20 years. It was under different owners until 2021, when the Timoteos were asked to take over.
"We promised the last owners we're going to try to do our best," said Omar's younger brother, Jonathan.
About a year after taking over, they got the attention of Yelp — and, welp, the rest is history.
"The following week, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, it was like, crazy," noted Jonathan. "Since we opened until we closed it was like crazy, crazy, crazy."
The Timoteos struck gold but confess they struggled to provide the service customers deserved because of the overwhelming response after the recognition from Yelp — long lines are often stretched outside the restaurant.
"It's so popular now. It's hard to come during the lunch hour," noted Ivona Kelly, a regular at El Amigo.
"It's kind of like a diamond in the rough," said customer Mike Bickoff. "You don't know about it."
Thomas Newman, another customer, said they serve "some of the best tacos I've ever had."
Although the food and the atmosphere bring in the customers, it's the relationship among the brothers and staff that they believe is the secret ingredient.
"The relationship that we have with my brothers is something different because we don't fight. We get together and then we discuss things. Yeah, we bump heads sometimes, but besides that, hey, it's part of the job," said Omar. "As a Mexican culture, we have that in our blood, being together, being helpful, being understandable, being fun, being crazy when it needs to be crazy in a real way, sometimes in a bad way, too. But it's part of it."
The Timoteo brothers have spent their adult lives learning from — and adapting to — a foreign land. Now, they get to share a part of their heritage with others.
"Every day we see a new face. And that's something that really that we were really proud of," Jonathan said.
"You're showing something of your culture to a different culture that they might not have known, they probably had not tasted before, and now they're part of it," Omar said.
