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Business & Tech

Elena's Offers Authentic Mexican Food–Fast–in West Dearborn

A family remembers a lost loved one with their new Dearborn restaurant.

There are few better ways to commemorate a loved one who loved to cook than by opening a restaurant in her name.

But that’s just what’s going on at Elena’s Mexican Carry-Out.

The family business, which is named after the late Flores family matriarch, opened Apr. 18 at 24142 Michigan Ave. in west Dearborn.

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Elena was “always proud of her food and proud to hand it down to us,” said Mariana Flores, co-owner of Elena’s and the namesake’s granddaughter-in-law.

Mariana, with her husband Alex Flores and mother-in-law Phyllis Bhea-Flores, cooked up the idea for a traditional Mexican carry-out restaurant several years ago.

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“We’ve been cooking for years–for parties and everything else–and we just thought we’d share our culinary talents,” Bhea-Flores said. “The food is great. It’s all old family recipes. We’re not taking shortcuts. Everything’s fresh.”

The place is a small store with a big punch. An order can be ready in less than 10 minutes, and one entree is enough to fill two people.

The owners named many of their dishes after family members, too: There are Elena’s tacos, for example, which comes with three tacos and sides of rice and refried beans; as well as Mariana’s Flautas, named after Mariana, who is “famous for her chicken,” Bhea-Flores said.

Previous owners left the place in good condition, too. The only renovation the family had to make was paint the walls. The location used to be Thai Diner, and before that, was the Harley-Davidson Deli.

For more information on Elena’s Mexican Carry-Out, call 313-768-5211.

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