For Erik Marquez, co-owner with Toni Rauch, of Rapidos Mexican Restaurant, the secret to cooking good, authentic Mexican food is simple, spend lots of time in the kitchen watching your mom and grandma cook.
Rapidos, at 1205 Branch St. in Platte City opened in September with a variety of Mexican cuisine for dine-in, curb-side pickup or take-out. The restaurant also offers outside dining in a spacious patio area, which has been very popular with customers.
Marquez, who began working in his father’s restaurants when he was 14 years old, has more than 21 years of restaurant experience.
A lot of the dishes served at Rapidos are inspired by Marquez’s mother’s cooking. He describes the unique cuisine in the restaurant as being the infusion of traditional Mexican food with Tex-Mex.
“We don’t have recipes in Mexican culture. It’s always a pinch of this and a dash of that, Marquez said. “It’s about how to translate that to a restaurant setting where we serve thousands of dishes. Growing up, I always hung out in the kitchen with my mom. I knew that was the best way to guarantee that I could eat her food forever by learning from her.”
Since the location of the restaurant offered a turnkey operation that only involved the addition of some kitchen equipment, Marquez and Rauch didn’t have any major changes to make to the interior and exterior.
“We had lots of cleaning to do, (thanks family!), Rauch said. “We were happy with the layout, we just needed to freshen everything up. I love the patio. It was the thing I was most excited about when we toured the space.”
Chef duties are divided between Marquez and his cousin, Oscar Marquez, who has 24 years of experience.
While COVID-19 has presented challenges, the staff of about 40 has been vigilant about complying with masks and social distancing. The staff’s mission is to make everyone feel safe and comfortable while dining.
“We believe in having a good relationship with the health department,” Marquez said. “We tried to open with a limited menu to work the bugs out. We feel like we do not have access to the whole market. A lot of customers still are not going out to eat. We miss everyone’s smiles.”
Carry-out and curbside pickup are always available at Rapidos and Marquez and Rauch look to grow that part of the business until the virus in under control.
Rauch has 20 years of experience in the restaurant industry. She started bartending when she was in college and soon transitioned into management. She has spent most of her career as the general manager at Rancho Grande Cantina in Liberty. But she leaves the cooking to Marquez.
“I can make macaroni and cheese and spaghetti, but that’s about it (just ask my husband), Rauch said. ”I leave the cooking to my partner Erik. He knows what he’s doing in the kitchen.”
She loves how Platte City has the feel of a small town but the accessibility of a bigger city. “I worked in Platte City years ago and I grew up 10 minutes south of here, so it’s familiar and comfortable here. We are confident in our concept and our product and we are so excited to be here in Platte City. I’m really proud of the atmosphere we have created here at Rapidos. The food is quality with great flavor and my staff is friendly and fun. It’s a restaurant everyone can feel comfortable at.”
The restaurant serves alcohol - margaritas have proven very popular - and plans to add new dishes soon, including tamales, chile rellenos and different variations of salsas, such as corn salsas, mango salsas and habenero salsas. They are also experimenting with a drink called horchata, a milky drink made from ground almonds, tiger nuts or rice.
“I’m excited to see what Erik can come up with,” Rauch said. “I’m mostly excited to add tamales to the menu, which is in the works.”
Marquez said choosing a favorite dish on the menu is very difficult. “That’s like asking who your favorite child is,” he said. “I love our street tacos. But honestly when I taste the food for quality I always overindulge.”
As far as specialties and customers’ favorites Rauch is very proud of their carne asada (featured in the street tacos) and the hot salsa. ”The fajita burrito with our house dip on it is always a hit and the fried tacos are delicious,” Rauch said. ”I’m hearing a lot of raving reviews of our puffy tacos as well. I make the house margaritas and try them on occasion (quality control), yum!”
The challenges of managing a restaurant for Rauch are primarily the unknowns. “Things change so quickly and you have to be prepared mentally and emotionally to roll with it,” Rauch said. “Managing a restaurant throughout 2020 has been the biggest test of my career.”
Even 2020’s unique challenges haven’t dampened her passion for being in a restaurant environment and getting to know the community.
“You meet such interesting people running around in the restaurant. Platte City has great character and work ethic,” Rauch said. ”I have enjoyed training my staff and getting to know the guests.”
She also agrees with Marquez about the secret to being a good cook. I would guess the answer to this may refer to having an awesome mom who can throw down,” Rauch said.
Her favorite Rapidos dish is Chimichanga and anything with verde sauce is a close second.
Both owners agree that Rapidos is a good place to relax and enjoy good food and good drinks.
“We are a family friendly neighborhood Mexican restaurant,” Marquez said. “Everyone is very welcoming in Platte City. Everyone knows everyone and we love that.”