‘We can blow their minds.’ New fast-casual restaurant serves up tamales with famous cheese dip and frosty horchata.
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IDAHO FALLS — A new fast-casual restaurant in downtown Idaho Falls serves tamales with a twist.
Tamales Inc., located at 475 Park Avenue, was opened in July by business partners Ricco Lanauze, Wendy Hotzel, and Luis Hernandez.
“We wanted to reinvent the wheel. We didn’t want to be just another restaurant that sells Mexican food,” said Lanauze. “We wanted to create something different, something new. We found something that we can offer to people that they never had before.”
Lanauze is originally from New Jersey, and his mom is from Mexico. He learned how to make tamales and has been in the restaurant business for over 30 years.
He said it takes about six and a half hours to cook nearly 250 to 300 tamales, which are made in the restaurant every day.
When you walk into Tamales Inc., you’ll notice a sign that recognizes local high schools, sports teams, and cities, along with vibrant colors and murals.
“Our theme is Día de los Muertos in Mexico,” Lanauze said.
The restaurant is set up like a “Subway,” and customers build their own food.
“You pick your rice. We put the rice on the bottom of the plate. It’s kind of like a tamale bowl. Then you pick your tamales, one, two, or three tamales (chicken, pork, or beef). We throw it in the oven for 30 seconds, and then you choose your toppings,” he said.
There is a famous cheese dip that customers love.
“Like people kill for it,” Lanauze said, smiling. “It’s a very special cheese that we get. We put our condiments, and we melt it down.”
There are frozen aguas frescas, like the “frosty horchata,” which is a big hit. There are also “walking tamales,” which are similar to walking tacos. Hernandez came up with the idea.
“Holy crap. That is so freaking good! We grab one of the potato chip bags: Tostitos, Doritos, Fritos, or Hot Cheetos. We just flip it over, cut it on the side, and put the tamale they choose. Then we put a very generous amount of our famous cheese dip. Then, all the toppings that they want. They just walk around with a fork and eat it,” Lanauze said.
Hotzel said walking tamales are popular with kids.
“They are really excited over it. They think it’s fun,” she said. “It’s all delicious. I love it all. I knew I liked tamales, but now I love them.”
She works in the front, helping take care of customers, and enjoys it. She feels like she has made new lifelong friends and said many customers have come back already.
“There have been some people that have come in six or seven times in the two weeks (since we’ve been open) or more,” Hotzel said. “We had some tourists from Japan and I think there were some that were from Australia.”
Hernandez said that business has been good. Most people have heard about Tamales Inc. through word of mouth. He said their work creating the food and the inside of the business has been rewarding.
“People have been excited for us to be open,” he said. “We enjoy being here.”
Tamales Inc. is open Monday through Saturday at 11 a.m. It closes between 9 and 10 p.m. or until the business runs out of tamales.
“I would just invite (the community) to come here and check it out. I am pretty sure that they would love to be here,” Hernandez said.
Lanauze added that if people are stepping into the restaurant for the first time, he hopes they will have an open mind to trying something new.
“We are not the place that just sells tamales,” he said. “We can blow their minds.”
