Edgar Vega grew up in the restaurant business.

His family owns several Puerto Vallarta locations including in Twin Lakes, and that’s where he spent so much of his time as a kid.

“I grew up with a lot of the employees here, most of our employees have been here long-term … This is where I learned everything,” Vega said.

Puerto Vallarta, which won first place at last year’s annual Taste of Federal Way event, will compete once again at this year’s event on Saturday, Sept. 28.

Owner Delia Andraed and her son are excited to share their delicious food with Federal Way.

Last year they won the competition with their famous street tacos, but this year they’re changing things up with their arroz con pollo dish.

Featuring Tex-Mex dishes mixed with authentic Mexican cuisine, Puerto Vallarta has earned its title as one of Federal Way’s favorite restaurants.

Andraed said her parents opened their first restaurant in Puyallup in 1978, over 40 years ago.

Their Federal Way restaurant opened in 1990, the same day that her son Edgar was born.

Since they have been in Federal Way, Andraed said their customer base has become like an extended family.

She said their staff and servers are excellent, and go above and beyond to make customers feel welcome.

“Some kids make drawings for their favorite servers,” she said.

Both Andraed and Vega said the customer base is one of their favorite parts about working in the restaurant business, and they want to thank the community for being so supportive of them all the years they’ve been in Federal Way.

“Big thank you to the community and customer base for supporting us all these years,” Andraed said.

She said most of their online reviews rave about their staff and servers, even more so than their food.

“We are blessed with excellent servers,” she said.

They also enjoy the variety of happenings that working in the restaurant business brings.

“It’s always something different, there’s always something to do, it’s not boring, you’re not sitting at a desk all day,” Vega said.

Andraed said she first got into cooking because she comes from a family and great cooks.

“I grew up with cooking. I like the fact that you’re around people,” she said. “It’s not boring, that’s for sure.”

Some of their most popular dishes aside from their street tacos are their arroz con pollo and Vega’s personal favorite dish, carne asada.

Andraed said all of their ingredients are purchased local as well.

They said they’ve come to love the Federal Way community after being here for so many years, and are looking forward to continuing to serve customers in Twin Lakes in the years to come.

Vega said, “I think we’ll be here forever.”

More information

Puerto Vallarta is located at 35105 Enchanted Parkway S. and 2002 SW Campus Drive in Federal Way.

The Taste of Federal Way runs from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28 at the Commons Mall parking lot, 1701 S. 320th St. and Pacific Highway. Tickets cost $15 and includes tastes from different restaurants with drink and dessert.

Puerto Vallarta in Twin Lakes has become a favorite for Federal Wayans in the 30 years it’s been in operation. Courtesy photo