Taqueria El Rey reopens in new permanent space this week

The year 2022 started with a tragedy for family-owned restaurant Taqueria El Rey. The longstanding Mexican restaurant suffered a fire at its Vernor Highway restaurant and needed to find a new home.

This week, Taqueria El Rey will reopen in a new location, 3400 Bagley in the Mexicantown neighborhood. The building was formerly El Zocalo, which operated for more than 30 years before closing in 2016.

According to an Instagram post, Taqueria El Rey will reopen in the new space along with a sister business Tres Leches Snacks. The soft opening is Friday with a grand opening celebration planned for Nov. 1.

The menu at the new space will feature tacos, of course, but also burritos, quesadillas, botanas and the grilled cuisine El Rey was famous for, including charcoal-grilled chicken and barbecued ribs. There will also be a full bar with margaritas, Mexican beers and other drinks.

Since the fire, El Rey’s cuisine has been available on a consistent pop-up basis, serving on Vernor between 23rd and 24th streets on weekends and Mondays and Tuesdays at Batch Brewing Co. in Corktown. Batch owner Stephen Roginson confirmed to The Detroit News that El Rey’s final pop-up service there will be Tuesday.