Couple plans new Mexican restaurant

An authentic Mexican restaurant is set to open next month, bringing new cuisine to the Treasure Valley.

El Tesoro’s Tortas and Tacos will open in the old Senor Fresh Mexican restaurant on W Chinden Blvd. in Boise.

Owners and husband and wife Felix and Leah Venegas are originally from Montana and owned a cleaning business together. Felix also tells BoiseDev that he has 15 years of experience in the restaurant industry.

“We’ve been talking about doing something of our own for a long time, so we looked there for a while,” said co-owner Leah Venegas. “We couldn’t find a place, so we decided to look around. Maybe move. We liked Boise, we chose Boise, and then we just got lucky and got a place.”

The Venegas say El Tesoro’s menu will focus on Mexican specialties.

“We’re going to specialize in tortas, a Mexican sandwich, and we’ll also have some street tacos and a few other menu items,” Venegas said. “We plan to offer al pastor, which is a marinated, seasoned pork. We’ll have charro beans, which are pretty popular (in Mexico), but I haven’t seen them in the places here. People really need to come by and try it. They’re really delicious.”

The Venegas are giving the building a new look, including redoing the flooring and updating the paint and some of the light fixtures to resemble authentic Mexican designs. They plan to keep the same building structure and just give it a more “rustic Mexican” feel.

El Tesoro’s will welcome customers starting September 9th and will be open Monday through Saturday from 11am to 8pm.

The Venegas say they are committed to making El Tesoro’s an authentic and memorable dining experience for the people of the Treasure Valley.