Desierto Rojo will open in former home of Mike’s Famous Chicken on a busy Fruita weekend

Tim Harty, The Business Times 

Grab some street tacos and mingle in the street.

That’s what the husband-and-wife ownership team of Jeff and Marlen Orehek are going for with Desierto Rojo, the Mexican restaurant they’re opening May 2 at 233 E. Aspen Ave. in Fruita.

In the building where Mike’s Famous Chicken previously resided, basically the only thing that’s changing indoors is some new paint. Nothing’s changing in the kitchen and dining areas except what kind of food is made and served.

The menu, Jeff Orehek said, is probably not what most people are expecting it to be.

“It’s not going to be a traditional sit down and eat with beans and rice, a platter-type meal,” he said. “It’s going to be more geared toward modern, fast-foodish, grab some street tacos and mingle in the street. You can also get drinks to go, whether they’re alcoholic or non alcoholic. We have a license to sell those both. 

“And so you can continue to do your Fruita thing, whether it’s, you know, go to the Headless Chicken or go to the bike festival or hit the road and go.”

Customers can dine indoors, but again, Jeff said, “It’s just not going to be typical beans and rice with your enchiladas.”

And there’s a really good reason for that, as Jeff added, “We won’t have any enchiladas. We won’t have any plates, per se. We’ll have baskets. We’ll have things that are geared to be easier.”

Ease is why the menu will be “mostly tacos, our focus is tacos,” Jeff said. “Tacos and beer.”

He said Desierto Rojo will have items that aren’t offered at most of the Grand Valley’s Mexican restaurants, such as chicharrones. Jeff emphasized their chicharrones will be nothing like “the things you buy at the grocery store.”

He said Desierto Rojo’s chicharrones will have meat on them, and the pork skin will be a little less crispy.

Other items to look for will be street corn, whether it’s elote (on the cob), or chaska (in a cup).

And if you’ve been craving nopales, rejoice! Desierto Rojo will be serving it. Nopales are fried cactus, by the way.

“Who would think you would eat cactus?” Jeff said.

Marlen Orehek would, as she’s originally from Mexico, and most of the recipes being used at Desierto Rojo are hers, based on foods she grew up with.

“They are delicious,” Jeff said of the nopales. “And I was scared the first time my wife served them to me, but I promise you, you will not be disappointed.”

For another menu rarity in the Grand Valley, Jeff said Desierto Rojo will have cheese tortillas, as in cheese that’s been skillet fried.

“It’s like when you accidentally get cheese on your skillet, and it becomes crunchy, and it’s yummy. We’re going to have a whole tortilla like that,” Jeff said. “And you can order your tacos in that. The only place I’ve seen that is in Cabo.”

The Oreheks think seeing their food will sell customers on it. So, if someone takes their food outside and eats it, perhaps a friend will see it and decide to get it, too.

“I’ve been in the industry for most of my life, so the biggest thing we’re going to try to do is sell you with your eyes,” Jeff said. “Because I am aware from my marketing degree and from my experience in the restaurant industry that people eat with their eyes more than they do their mouths. So, if you can make it look amazing, you’re gonna be 10 steps ahead of the next guy.”

ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THIS?

The grand opening of the Desierto Rojo, 233 E. Aspen Ave., on May 2 coincides with Fruita Fat Tire Festival, which runs May 2-4. That means downtown Fruita is going to be busy.

So, a soft opening for a few days or a week prior would seem to be in order, but Marlen Orehek said May 1 will be the lone day to prepare for the chaos the weekend is likely to bring.

Jeff Orehek added there is no soft opening. May 1 will be for family and friends, and he and Marlen will be cooking and playing around in the kitchen.

Come May 2, Jeff expects, “We’ll have the festival. We’re going to get rocked.”

But he added, “I’m not afraid. I’ve got experience. I’ll be here, backing (Marlen) up. She’ll be doing what she does and being the face and the polite one, and I’ll be the one in the background yelling and getting things done.”

JUST SOUNDS MORE APPETIZING

When it came to naming the restaurant, Jeff wanted to call the restaurant Red Desert or Red Desert Restaurant and Brewery. And he thought that was the end of the story.

Um, yeah, not so fast.

“Marlen one night in bed says, I think we should call it Desierto Rojo,” Jeff said. “I said, ‘No. It’s Red Desert.’

“And I said, ‘You know what? I’ll take a poll, because we’re going to let the customers decide.’ And so I took that poll, and I asked about 10 people, nonbiased people, which one of these two places would you rather go eat? And they said, ‘Well, I don’t know what this means.’ I said, ‘That’s not the point. You have to choose which one of these places you would prefer to go eat, just looking at the name.’

“And they all, hands down, chose Desierto Rojo. Not a single vote for my Red Desert.”