Some restaurants come and go, but a rare few stick around long enough to feed three generations of the same family. Tucked into a busy corner of Grand Rapids, Michigan, sits a Tex-Mex spot that claims to be the birthplace of a dish that has since spread across the country.
Folks drive nearly an hour just to order the meal they remember from decades ago, and many say it still tastes exactly the way it did back then. Curious what keeps this cantina packed year after year?
Keep reading, because the story behind this longtime favorite is every bit as interesting as the plates it serves.
The Corner That Started It All
At 16 28th St SE in Grand Rapids, Michigan, sits Beltline Bar, a Tex-Mex restaurant that has become a genuine landmark for the area. The address puts it right in the thick of one of the city’s busiest stretches, which helps explain how it has stayed so full for so long…