New Mexican restaurant to take over former Los Portales space in downtown Rockford

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
Get our mobile app

ROCKFORD — A new restaurant taking over the former Los Portales space on the eastern edge of downtown plans to introduce a variety of street tacos and other dishes popular in the owner’s birthplace.

Claudia Rodriguez is preparing to open Jalisco and Tequila at 805 E. State St. The restaurant is named after Jalisco, Mexico, the state where she was born. It’s also the birthplace of tequila.

“Jalisco is a place where you can enjoy a lot of variety of street food,” Rodriguez said. “That’s something we hope people like and will come try us.”

More restaurants: New Rockford restaurant filling former KFC aims to elevate the city’s ramen scene

She hopes to open by mid-August after making a few fixes and cleaning and preparing the space.

Much of the menu will be similar to Los Portales, Rodriguez said, but you’ll find street taco options such as cabeza, tripas, buche, lengua and staples such as carne asada, pollo and carnitas.

Cabeza, for those who aren’t familiar, comes from the roasted head of a cow, tripas are prepared from a cow’s intestines and buche are pork stomach tacos. Lengua, or beef tongue, is often braised with garlic and onions.

“We want to go more authentic,” Rodriguez said. “We’re introducing some other items that I don’t think people have here, any Mexican restaurants.”

She also plans to add parrillada, a platter with a mixture of meats that can include steak, chicken, beef ribs and chorizo.

Rodriguez grew up in Wisconsin after coming to the country at age 12. She’s been in Rockford for just shy of a decade, and fans of local Mexican food may be familiar with her work. She was a former waitress at Mexico Clasico on Broadway after meeting Jose Chavez, who now owns Chavez Mexican Restaurante on East State Street and Tortilla Express on West State Street in downtown. Rodriguez later became a part owner of Mexico-Clasico before getting this opportunity for her own venture.

She will own the restaurant and her husband, Carlos Rubio, is the head chef.

Los Portales closed earlier this month after nearly two decades in business. Sandy Diaz-Ruiz and Manuel Ruiz decided to retire, and had arranged plans with Rodriguez to take over the space.

“The previous owner was very accommodating. They really loved Claudia,” said Karen Hobbs, the owner of KH Food Safety Consulting and Services, which is working with Rodriguez to prepare her for the opening. “They just wanted to retire. I think they really waited for someone to pass the business to, and that’s Claudia.”

More restaurants: New Rockford Public Art trail rewards you for visiting murals, sculptures and more

The restaurant will open with beer and wine available, but Rodriguez plans to add a full bar within the first year of business.

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas