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Tanias Dos Mundos

Wednesday, 09 February 2011 05:07

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Tanias 33, housed in a quiet grey building with a purple awning on Grande Ave., is open seven days a week at 7 a.m. Specializing in Sonoran-style Mexican food, this restaurant offers fresh cooked meals and cold pre-packaged entrees to go.

Over the past 23 years, owner Rudy Lira has expanded his mother-in-law’s tortilla business into a restaurant offering more than 32,000 combination plates.

In addition to the combination plates, Tanias 33 also offers a number of different burritos fitting for breakfast, lunch or dinner, as well as 12 soups. Every menu item is offered all day.

“Our number one selling item is menudo," Lira said. "Our best selling breakfast burrito is number one, the chorizo and eggs."

A recent addition to the menu is the large variety of both vegetarian and vegan options.

"It is so nice to be able to give people a choice on what they get," Lira said.

A majority of the orders are called in or for take-out, according to Lira.

"About three-fourths of our business is to go," Lira said. "We have limited parking and limited seating but instead of making that a negative thing, we have turned it into a positive by giving a 10 percent discount when they fax in their order."

Another unique aspect of Tanias 33 is the “Cold for Less” section, which offers pre-packaged meals that can be taken to go and reheated. The cold case includes homemade tamales, burritos, rice, beans, salsa and more.

Every morning, three employees arrive to Tanias 33 at 5 a.m. to prepare the tortillas and soups for their 7 a.m. opening.

"If I made the tortillas it would take me days, but Christina Reyes, who has been preparing the tortillas for years, only takes five hours to make 100 dozen fresh tortillas," said Patricia Lira, Rudy’s wife.


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Some employees have been with the family since the location's opening, others for more than 15 years.

“What we want to focus on here is positive customer service," Lira said. "We want to look for ways to make it a better experience."

Rudy Lira says the next step is a change in name. The new name, “Tanias Dos Mundos,” represents the two worlds the restaurant aims to encompass.

"Why two worlds?" Lira asked. "Well, not only do we have hot, ready-to-eat food, but we also have our Cold for Less, where we sell our best, our fastest selling items for less." 

Written by Erica Coleman, McKenzie Sheldon You are reading Tanias Dos Mundos articles

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