March 21, 2023

A Mexican restaurant from the operators of a Canton food truck has replaced the Mexican restaurant that closed earlier this year on South Minnesota Avenue.

Los Arcos Mexican Taco Restaurant has opened at 1200 S. Minnesota Ave. The owners, Samuel Espinoza and his uncle Ponciano Espinoza, worked at the former Abelardo’s Mexican Fresh. The Omaha-based chain opened the Sioux Falls restaurant four years ago.

While much of the menu is similar, “it is different stuff than what we had at Abelardo’s,” Espinoza said. “We have more freedom for what we’re going to add. There’s maybe things you can’t find in town.”

That includes gorditas and pupusas, both of which are varieties of flatbreads stuffed with meat and beans.

Customers will find tacos, burritos, enchiladas, quesadillas, chile rellenos, tamales and more, Espinoza said.

Ponciano Espinoza is a native of central Mexico and has been in the U.S. for 35 years or more, said his nephew, who was born in California. Ponciano began managing Abelardo’s in Sioux Falls less than a year after it opened, and Samuel moved here to help.

The two started a food truck last year in Canton, where they live, and operate it year-round. They have hired a general manager, Miguel Madrueno, and his wife, Liz Mendoza, to manage the restaurant.

Customers order at the counter, and there’s a seating area with tables and booths. It also has a drive-thru.

Los Arcos, which translates to The Arches, opens at 8 a.m. daily and serves breakfast burritos, huevos rancheros, chilaquiles and more. It closes at 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday nights.

“We might change it eventually, but that’s how we’re going to start off,” Espinoza said.