Restaurant brings Sonoran flavors to Lincoln Place

Two of the four owners of Dos Reyes Mexican Kitchen, Rich Santistevan (left) and Eddie Lilliock (right), stand in front of their business on Interboro Avenue April 30.  Their sandwich board advertises their Sunday brunch. Photo by MaryAnn Majcher

By MaryAnn Majcher

Meet Rich Santistevan and Eddie Lilliock, two of the owners of Dos Reyes. They have set up their Mexican kitchen at 5203 Interboro Ave. in the old Porked Restaurant space. Mr. Santistevan, his wife, Chuck, and Mr. Lilliock hail from Arizona with ties to the Pittsburgh area. Eddie’s wife, Erin, is from West Mifflin. Mr. Santistevan and Mr. Lilliock said during an April 30 interview that they are thrilled to be here and happy to be serving their food to Pittsburgh and surrounding areas.

Mr. Santistevan and Mr. Lilliock specialize in Sonoran-style Mexican food. This type of food comes from Northern Arizona, where the flour tortilla originated; it uses lots of green chilies. Their specialty is green chili beef. This is an old family recipe from Ms. Santistevan’s grandmother, Nana Vera, the matriarch who inspires many of their recipes.

During the Lenten season, they were open on Fridays to serve fish tacos. I stopped in and ordered some on Good Friday this year. They were delicious! The fish was fried perfectly, and the slaw was crisp and fresh.

They source their food locally and make it from scratch. They buy their meat from Jo-Mar in the Strip District, produce from Restaurant Depot and other supplies at Gordon Food Service. Their menu changes daily so this determines how much of anything they need to purchase.

The Santistevans and Lilliocks started their business in 2015. When Ms. Santistevan worked at the Mod Cloth warehouse, an online clothing company located in Crafton, she noticed that food trucks were providing food for the warehouse employees. The Santistevans and Lilliocks came up with the idea to sell food from the warehouse’s cafeteria for the warehouse employees. They got the go-ahead from the warehouse owners to do this and so their business started. Mr. Santistevan said they used tax return money to buy ingredients for their burritos to sell to the warehouse employees. This endeavor lasted about three years.

They then moved on to their next endeavor, selling food at breweries. They purchased portable burners, canopies and tables. Mr. Santistevan and Mr. Lilliock would bring both hot and cold food to the breweries. They used portable grills to heat or cook the food to be served on their tables under their canopies. The first place for this endeavor was Black Forge Coffee Shop located in Allentown (now Grim Wizard Coffee). The other breweries who collaborated with them on this new venture were Apis Mead and Winery in Carnegie, and Hitchhiker Brewing Company in Sharpsburg and Mt. Lebanon. To do their prep work, the four partners leased the kitchen from the owner of Apis Mead and Winery.

Around two years ago, they bought their food truck. Their business expanded to serving food at more breweries. These included Lolev in Lawrenceville, Hazelwood Brew House in Hazelwood, Old Thunder Brewing Company in Blawnox, Grist House Craft Brewery in Millvale, Helicon Brewing in Oakdale, and other breweries located in the North Side, Mt. Lebanon, Dormont and Mars.

Early last year, their lease to prep food at Apis’ kitchen was going to expire. The state of Pennsylvania requires all food truck owners to prepare their food in a kitchen and not in the truck. In February 2024, through a family friend, Mr. Santistevan and Mr. Lilliock leased the old Porked building. This would provide them with the kitchen they needed for their food preparation.

Dos Reyes’ name means “Two Kings.” Their hours of operation depend on the day of the week, but their schedule is always posted at dosreyespgh.com. Depending on which brewery they will be servicing they may be serving in the afternoons or evenings, and they may serve at more than one brewery on a given day.

They are planning on serving Sunday brunch starting sometime this summer, available to eat in or take out, at the restaurant on Interboro Avenue. Their sandwich board displayed outside the restaurant indicates when they are open and what is available. If you are driving by and the sign is out, stop in for some of the best Mexican food around.

Mr. Santistevan said that he and Mr. Lilliock have about another year’s commitment with their food truck. After that, they are looking forward to opening the restaurant for five or six days a week. Welcome the Santistevans and Lilliocks to Lincoln Place. We’re excited to have you here.

MaryAnn Majcher is a retired business analyst, home horticulturist and six-word story contributor in Lincoln Place.