Former Annandale family expands popular restaurant to South Haven location
Nancy Del Angel’s family, who now reside in Rockford, had not long ago opened their authentic Mexican restaurant in Rockford, Tacos La Chule. (It’s pronounced La Choo-lay.) Yet when another opportunity popped up recently, they jumped at it.
Tacos La Chule II opened this week in South Haven, in the space most recently occupied by Agave restaurant and, for decades before that, by Mom’s Place.
The original Tacos La Chule is an authentic Mexican restaurant that opened April 14, 2023, in Rockford. “La Chule” is a slang word that means “precious.” It’s also what Nancy calls one of her daughters. The new restaurant in South Haven is Tacos La Chule II. The South Haven location is intentionally similar to the one in Rockford, with similar ambience, taste, and culture.
“When we were opening [in Rockford], we would have people wait an hour and a half for good food, and the people who don’t [want to wait] come back,” said Daniel.
The dining area in South Haven is larger than the Rockford location, and the kitchen is about double the size of the Rockford kitchen. The ingredients they use are Mexican products, sourced here in the U.S.
The family
Nancy had dreamed of having her own restaurant since she was 8, growing up in Mante, Tamaupilas, Mexico, with a plethora of fruit trees on her family’s property. She used to “play restaurant” as a child. She learned to prepare tortillas from her mother, recipes that have passed down through generations. Her love for tacos ignited when she lived with her aunt who made her living selling tacos.
Nancy and her family moved to the United States when she was 15. Her love and experience cooking became a vocation. She began cooking for events, and worked for a caterer while pursuing her own license. Her dream of having her own restaurant persisted even while cooking for her family, friends, high school sports events, weddings, birthday parties, and more.
Nancy and husband Carlos have seven children: 5 boys and 2 girls, with the youngest just a few months old. The older kids are very involved in the restaurant, especially Daniel, Alan and Brandon.
Nancy and Carlos raised their children in Annandale for 19 years. Then the eldest Daniel and Alan earned enough money working to buy their family a house in Rockford. A year and a half later, an opportunity arose to open a restaurant space across the street from their new house, and Tacos La Chule came into being. Nearly two years later, the South Haven location became available.
“[We] decided to take a leap of faith,” says Alan who with brothers Daniel and Brandon will run the South Haven restaurant as co-owners and managers. Family members will rotate between the two locations.
Menu
The family is very focused on bringing authentic Mexican cuisine to the area. “Anything that you can think of that is popular in Mexico is on the menu,” Daniel says. The restaurant offers unique menu items as well, such as Alan’s Nachos, a very simple appetizer that older brother Daniel made for Alan when he was younger.
There are three house-crafted hot sauces: mild, medium, and hot.
Meat options are asada (steak), pollo (chicken), al pastor (pork), carnitas (pulled pork), and barbacoa (shredded beef). There is a large seafood selection, and vegetarian and gluten-free options are available.
All desserts are made in-house, with 12 dessert items on the menu including Chocolate Cake, Tres Leches, and Elote en Vaso.
Nancy has her homemade sopes on the menu, and grandma comes to the restaurant to make her Lali’s Tamales.
Daniel loves the Birria Tacos which are very popular with their customers. Alan’s favorite dish is Nancy’s Chule Street Tacos. Brandon’s favorite is the El Fundidón.
The restaurant does not offer a full bar, but they have a litany of drinks to offer including Mexican sodas.
Their two main cooks are from Honduras, and the other three are from Nicaragua.
With a large and comprehensive menu, you’re sure to find a new favorite each time you visit Tacos La Chule II in South Haven.
More info
The family is ecstatic to welcome the community, and have people enjoy their authentic Mexican food. Tacos La Chule II offers takeout and catering. They will cater graduations, sports events, birthday parties, weddings, and more.
Tacos La Chule is hiring servers in both locations. They are looking for fast, clean, organized workers.
Hours are weekdays 11-9, Friday and Saturday 11-10, and Sunday 11-8.
If you’d like to keep up with them on their socials, their accounts are: Instagram @tacos.lachule, TikTok @tacoslachule, and Facebook at Tacos La Chule II.