It may be small - it seats only 10 people - but Rico's Mexican restaurant in Hill City has been attracting a following of diners from as far away as Custer and Rapid City, according to owner Liz Simental.

She opened the business last summer at 156 A Main St., across the street from the Alpine Inn.

"I call it traditional Mexican food, because I home cook everything," said Liz Simental, owner of the new restaurant. She even cooks her own beans from scratch - no canned beans, she said.

And with seating for only 10, Simental tries to push her take-out offerings as much as possible.

Each Wednesday, she has the Guinea Pig Club. She tries out a new authentic Mexican dish, and everyone who orders it gets to put their name in a jar. The winner gets a free meal, and she asks them what they thought of the new entree.

Liz Simental was born in San Antonio in a family that took its Mexican food seriously. She has been in the Black Hills about 30 years. Her husband, Obegario "Rooster" Simental, is a logger in the Black Hills. He is from Zacatecas, in central Mexico.

Over the years, she has been working in a number of Hill City area restaurants such as Mount Rushmore Brewing Co.

Simental was surprised at just how well people in the Black Hills have responded to her dishes. She gets good support from Hill City, but most of her customers drive from Rapid City and Custer to sample the fare.

The restaurant is an outgrowth of another business. For 15 years, she has been making a line of salsas: Rico's Salsa and Rico's Fruit Salsa, made from vegetables grown in her husband's garden. If the Simentals can't grow the ingredients themselves, they buy them locally. She hopes to get FDA approval to go into commercial production of her salsas.

In addition, she makes and sells tamales.

Winter hours at Rico's are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. In summer, the restaurant is open Monday through Saturday. For information, call 574-2932.

Contact Dan Daly at 394-8421 or at dan.daly@rapidcityjournal.com