About UsIn the early 1950s, Ramond Tejada, Sr. and his father, Alfred opened a small diner on Van Born Road in Taylor, MI and called it the Matador Drive-In. Mexican food wasn't popular at th etime, but the Tejada's started teh Matador Drive-In with their own family recipes for tamales, enchiladas, tacos and tostadas. The rest of their fare was American. The oringial building including the kitchen and dining area is now the main dining room, north of the brick arches (you can see a picture of Al & Sandy and Ray & Margaret in the reception area). The Matador did mostly carryouts because the dining room could only handle a dozen customer.
Alfred operated the business until 1970, when he retired and turned the restaurant over to Ray, who was then a millwright at General Motors. Ray and Margaret, his wife, ran the restaurant with the help of their five children and many friends.
In 1975, the restaurant expanded to its present size. Both alfred adn Ray, Sr. have passed away, but Margaret and teh Tejada family continue to carry on the business. Now, we have a fourth generation working at the Matador, maintaining the Tejada legacy, Margaret still works at the Matador and loves cooking.
In September 2004, the Matador marked it's 50th year in business under the same family ownership. The family has a stack of written memories created for them by many of their longtime customers. The accounts offer a litany of special family moments - marriage proposals, expectant mothers revealing their good news, birthdays, graduations and anniversaries - all celebrated at the Matador over the years.
We gratefully thank all of our family and friends who have worked or dined with us at the Matador.
Hours of Operation:
Monday thru Thursday: 11am to 9:30pm | Friday: 11am to 11pm | Saturday: 12pm to 11pm | Sunday: 3:30pm to 9:30pm