Enjoy a taste of Mexico at this east Charlotte spot

CHARLOTTE — Warning: the contents of this article may leave you craving tacos, tortas, or quesadillas!

Tucked inside a small Mexican supermarket on Eastway Drive is a modest restaurant serving food that owner Marco Sandoval says you won’t find anywhere else in Charlotte.

“It’s very, very, authentic food,” Sandoval said. “It’s not anything else you’d find in other places in Charlotte. It’s the food for the people that kind of want that taste of home.”

The Mexican native moved to the Queen City nine years ago to better provide for his family.

He started out washing dishes and eventually saved enough money to open El Rinconcito Chilango inside the market his mother owns.

“This has always been my dream, to start a little restaurant and keep it as a little restaurant,” Sandoval said.

Sandoval gets many of his ingredients from Mexico such as huitlacoche and queso Oaxaca, and makes everything from scratch, including the tortillas.

He says there’s a little piece of Mexico in every bite, and he’s grateful to be able to share his food with those who miss home.

“It’s nice to see people who come here and say they haven’t had this food for a very long time,” he said. “That’s something that I cannot explain in words, it’s very emotional.”

El Rinconcito Chilango is at 1409 Eastway Drive.

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