Minneapolis restaurateur Hector Ruiz plans first suburban location in Minnetonka

Minneapolis restaurateur Hector Ruiz is partnering with an investor to open his first store in the suburbs.

A second location of El Travieso Taqueria is slated to take a 1,200-square-foot storefront inside Minnetonka’s Minnehaven Square building, located at the intersection of Minnetonka Boulevard and County Road 101. It could be a first step toward a larger suburban expansion for Ruiz.

That expansion is being aided by Chase Lindsay, a TCF Financial Corp. vice president and real estate and business investor who first met Ruiz several years ago. Lindsay is taking an ownership stake in El Travieso and providing marketing support for the growing business.

The original El Travieso opened last year near 50th & Xerxes in southwest Minneapolis. The counter-service taqueria was a pandemic-era pivot, replacing another Ruiz concept, Don Raul, whose fine-dining ambitions were out of step with the times.

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