A look at Acapulco Joe's through the years

Joe Rangel, shown getting a cup of coffee at his restaurant, Acapulco JoeÕs Fine Food, on Sept. 21, 1970, came to Indianapolis on a quirk of fate. At the age of 13, Joe left his home in San Jose, Guanajuato, Mexico to go to the United States. Six times he crossed the border, only to be deported each time as an illegal alien. He eventually came to the country legally and went to work at a restaurant in Corpus Christy, Tex. After a friend lined him up with a job as a waiter at a Minneapolis restaurant in 1958, Joe went to the bus station to buy a ticket to Minneapolis. When he couldnÕt find the restaurant in Indianapolis, he realized that the ticket agent had misunderstood his halting English, sending him to Indianapolis, not Minneapolis. Nearly broke, Joe went to work for the Airliner sandwich shops until 1961, when he opened his own place on the southwest corner of Vermont and Illinois streets. About a year later, he changed the restaurantÕs name to Acapulco JoeÕs. In 1982, he moved his restaurant across the street, where it is today. Joe proudly became a U.S. citizen on Sept. 1, 1970 and often entertained customers by singing God Bless America. He died at the age of 65 in September 1988.

Joe Rangel "Acapulco Joe" holds his awards from IUPUI that proved he served the best tacos in Indianapolis in 1982.

Joe Rangel shows his dance moves to Indianapolis Water Co. employees outside his Acapulco JoeÕs restaurant at 342 N. Illinois in 1982. Joe moved across the street to the building in the background the following spring.

Joe Rangel or Acapulco Joe and his wife, Patty sit in their restaurant as they prepare to reopen the store after relocating from their old location across the street in 1983

Acapulco Joe's original restaurant on the west side of Vermont and Illinois before it moved across the street.

Patty Rangel behind the counter on the last day at Acapulco Joe's at their original location in 1982. The restaurant closed to make room for AUL parking.

Shannon Carver-Merrill longtime waitress at Acapulco Joes Mexican Restaurant (Vermont and Illinois), was busy getting hot food to her customers in 1999.

Waitress Jennifer Martin juggles plates of Mexican fare at downtown's Acapulco Joe's in 2001, where many of the afternoon's patrons had come in for a hot meal, without much thought about the day's significance - Cinco de Mayo.

A server takes an order at Acapulco Joe's on Illinois and Vermont streets on Wednesday, March 14, 2018. On March 13, 2018, a costumer trying to leave without paying attacked and critically injured the owner, Grant Redmond.

Three tacos from Acapulco Joe's, 365 N. Illinois, Indianapolis in 2005.

Exterior of Acapulco Joe's 365 N. Illinois St.