FORT WORTH
The Original Mexican Eats Cafe, the oldest Tex-Mex restaurant in Fort Worth and one of the oldest in Texas, is making its triumphant return to Camp Bowie Boulevard and will open a second location this fall near the shops where it first opened in 1930.
The Original will open a patio restaurant and bar with a takeout window and drive-through at 4733 Camp Bowie Blvd. That was the Original’s parking lot before it moved in 2023 to the full-service location at 1400 N. Main St.
The smaller Original will offer walk-up service at lunch and full patio table service in the evening, owner Robert Self said. It will serve beer in bottles and cans, wine and margaritas.
The new-old location will open around mid-November, he said. It will sell dinners, tamales, enchiladas and salsa to go for the holidays, including the signature “Roosevelt special” named for President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Fort Worth visits to a son, Elliott.
The old sign was lighted first before construction began on The Original Mexican Eats Cafe’s second location, a drive-through stand in Camp Bowie Boulevard on the former restaurant parking lot. Cathy Neece Brown Special to the Star-Telegram
The ongoing soap opera around The Original’s Camp Bowie location began in 2010, when the landlords at the old location five doors east asked for the first rent increase in 18 years.
A 13-year-long rent dispute ended in court with The Original moving out and taking over the former North Main Street location of another old-time Tex-Mex restaurant, El Rancho Grande.
But The Original had kept its old parking lot west of the strip shopping center. Self originally planned a drive-through kiosk that grew into an outdoor mini-Original.
The Original’s North Main Street location was recently recognized for “best queso” by Star-Telegram readers. It is praised by online commenters for its traditional Texas-style cheese enchiladas with chili con carne, “puffy tacos” and thin, light tortilla chips that are a holdover from El Rancho Grande.
The The Original Mexican Eats Cafe has been voted by readers to have the best queso in Fort Worth. The restaurant has a variety of quesos for guests to choose from. Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com
The Original was founded in 1930 by Lola San Miguel Piñeda from Múzquiz, Mexico, and her husband, former Spanish Army soldier Gerónimo Piñeda of Barcelona.
They moved here via Laredo and Waco. The restaurant’s 1930 opening is confirmed in Star-Telegram archives and census records, although the restaurant has claimed a 1926 opening date.
In a 1932 clipping, Piñeda described the combination No. 1 plate: “tacos, Mexican rice, chile con queso, Spanish salad, toasted tortillas, Mexican candy [a praline] and a bottle of ice cold Pearl beer.” The price was 50 cents.
The North Main Street location is open for lunch and dinner daily except Monday; 817-761-1890, originalmexcafe.com.
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95 years of history at The Original Mexican Eats Cafe: a “Roosevelt Special” with chalupa, enchilada, taco and dips. Richard W. Rodriguez Special to the Star-Telegram
This story was originally published October 2, 2026 at 10:08 AM.
Bud Kennedy’s Eats Beat
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Bud Kennedy is celebrating his 40th year writing about restaurants in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He has written the “Eats Beat” dining column in print since 1985 and online since 1992 — that’s more than 3,000 columns about Texas cafes, barbecue, burgers and where to eat.
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