Re-opening a Boost to the Community with Jobs & Inspiration
This Southwest Detroit restaurant – owned by Wicho and Nancy Diaz – is as authentic as it gets. The couple owns three Detroit-area Mexican restaurants: La Palapa and Los Altos in Southwest Detroit as well as Los Arcos in Allen Park. All three restaurants have opened within the last three years.
The family are pioneers in the food truck industry, operating seven trucks with full menus utilizing Mexican ingredients and flavors in and around Southwest Detroit since 2008. Their dedication to quality and to the Southwest Detroit community are second-to-none.
Their vision to help elevate Southwest Detroit to greater success was painfully interrupted by a 2021 fire that closed La Palapa for more than a year. The beloved eatery fully re-opened in March 2022.
The food trucks and all three restaurants owned by the Diaz family are known for their authenticity and loyalty to traditional Mexican fare with an occasional fusion adventure; it is not a Tex-Mex place, so many of which are seen in Detroit and the suburbs. The restaurants employ more than 80 people.
”For us, the restaurant serves as a basis for doing what’s right – employing good hardworking people while treating them like family and helping to enhance the stability and growth of an-often marginalized neighborhood,” said Nancy Diaz. “We know that it’s about business, too. However, we believe that doing the right thing improves business.”
Wicho and Nancy hail from Jalisco which is a western Mexican state fringing the Pacific Ocean. The state is known for mariachi music and tequila, both of which originated there. Both tequila and mariachi music figure prominently in their forthcoming event plans for their restaurants and the elaborate restaurant murals that they’ve commissioned.
La Palapa Del Parian is open every day from 9:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m.
