CASSELTON, N.D. — If not for the vigilance of a night-owl restaurant owner who was willing to answer a call after 10 p.m. from an unknown number, El Valle Taco Shop might have never found a home in Casselton.

Elana Iverson just happened to be driving by the city’s Governors’ Inn right off the interstate when she noticed a sign that said the adjoining restaurant was available for lease.

On a whim, she called the number on the sign.

It was 10:26 p.m., so she expected her call to go to voicemail.

Instead, a man answered. He was the owner, who had run the space as a Country Kitchen before COVID and staffing shortages prompted him to shut down.

“We got to talking and we worked out a deal, and here we are,” she says.

Since April 1, Iverson and her aunt/business partner, Maria Vazquez, have

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