What started as a family business has turned into a lifelong dream for El Jacal co-owner Michael Pacheco.

Pacheco grew up working for his parents at El Jacal’s original location and has helped the Mexican restaurant transform from a side business into a full-fledged operation.

Business Hours

Monday-Thursday: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Friday-Saturday: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Sunday: 11-2 p.m.

“My mom and dad started the first (El Jacal) in Ottawa,” Pacheco said. “It was a little place that seated maybe 32 people … The literal translation for El Jacal is a sack. So in essence, that’s what that little place looked like. It was just a little place and we started out that way.”

Under Pacheco’s direction, the restaurant grew from its original occupancy into the building at 711 High Street, which seats approximately 160 people.

Pacheco’s parents owned El Jacal in Ottawa for 25 years and then turned the business over to Michael. He took over for three years, but then stepped away for almost a decade.

Over the last 10 years, Pacheco served as a chef for Beta Theta Pi fraternity at the University of Kansas. While Pacheco enjoyed his job there and eventually planned to retire at the fraternity, he always kept the dream of opening his own restaurant alive.

“In the back of my mind, I was thinking if it doesn’t happen in two or three years … I was ready to tear things down, it’s not going to happen. But then this opportunity opened up,” Pacheco said.

When the building in Baldwin City became available, Pacheco, his wife Christina and business partner Shane Dertinger jumped on the opportunity.

“I’ve always liked Baldwin. I’ve always felt like Baldwin was a pretty town,” Pacheco said. “Plus, I’ve seen Baldwin grow from a little, small town to what it is now and I know it is going to continue to grow, so I thought this would be a good location.”

Even though the project to open El Jacal started just a little over a month ago, Pacheco and his partners already have a vision for the future.

“We have a lot of ideas for this building and the direction we want to take it and where we want to go with it,” Pacheco said. “My main goal is to make sure … that everything we make is made right here in this building.”

The menu, filled with freshly prepared meals, includes homemade tamales, fajitas and other traditional dinners. El Jacal also has a lunch buffet available from 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Pacheco said the restaurant is still waiting on a liquor license but plans to have a bar menu soon. Once this happens, El Jacal will keep the bar open after the dining room closes.

Other plans for the restaurant include bringing in live entertainment on the weekends and adding outdoor dining.

While these additions may look entirely different from the restaurant his parents opened decades ago, Pacheco has the same business philosophy at heart. Following the precedent his parents set, many of the restaurant’s employees are part of Pacheco’s family or are associated with the family.

“It was always, and even to this day, it’s still family first,” Pacheco said.