Rancheros TBay
(L-R) Emilio Cosio, Rodrigo Cosio
Authentic Mexican Food Now at Goods & Co.
Story and photos by Abigail Heron
How did you spend your summer at 15? Riding your bike, playing video games? How about opening your own authentic Mexican restaurant? Not so much that last one? Well such was the case for Rodrigo Cosio Jr. when, two years ago, through the CEDC’s Summer Company Program, he carried on his family's 50-year tradition of restaurant ownership.
“Back in Mexico, my mom and her family own a restaurant, and that's what pushed me to open [Rancheros TBay] here,” he says. The project garnered so much enthusiasm that “just a summer stint” turned into a year-round, home-based business. You may have caught them already in their food truck every Saturday at Crossroad Music Summer Series, and since late June you can find them at their very own spot at Goods & Co. Market. But no matter where they are, if you’re looking for the real culinary deal, Rancheros is where it’s at.
Birria quesadilla
“We are an authentic option for Mexican food,” says Rodrigo’s dad, Rodrigo Cosio Sr. “Whatever you eat with us is what you would be getting if you were sitting in my house having dinner, [and] absolutely everything we make is from scratch.” Rancheros aims to eventually expand their menu, but even now, the selection is iconic and the food is unmatched. Including fan favourites like birria quesadillas and enchiladas verdes, everything is prepared fresh day-to-day and has an irreplicable, delicious taste that can only be forged from great passion and expertise. In addition to serving well-known staples, it is the only place in town that serves tortilla soup, a traditional Mexican dish.
Tortilla soup
Rancheros has come so far already and there’s no telling where they’ll go, but wherever that may be, one thing is for certain: they’ll always keep their heart at the forefront. “Feeding people is what we have been doing literally our entire life— it is our entire life,” says Cosio Sr.
Enchiladas verdes
“Continuing with what [Maiella Acuna, his wife]’s father and her mother started, with their legacy but now, in another country—another world. I want the people who come to Rancheros TBay to feel warm and welcome. We don’t just want to offer just food, we want to offer an experience [and] our culture to the amazing people of Canada.”