El Fenix is a popular chain of

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

restaurants in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex, (Texas) and the oldest chain of Mexican restaurants in the U.S. The name is Spanish for "the

phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

", the legendary bird which, according to mythology, arose from its own ashes. The chain has its headquarters in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

. It was founded in 1918 by Miguel (Mike) Martinez, and then sold on May 30, 2008 to an investment company. Often, at its main location in

downtown Dallas Downtown Dallas is the central business district (CBD) of Dallas, Dallas, Texas, United States, located in the geographic center of the city. It is the second-largest business district in the state of Texas. The area termed "Downtown" has tradit ...

, the lunchtime line of patrons spills out the front door and down Alamo Street. El Fenix is known for its brand of "

Tex-Mex cuisine Tex-Mex cuisine (from the words ''Texan'' and ''Mexican'') is an American cuisine that derives from the culinary creations of the ''Tejano'' people of Texas. It has spread from border states such as Texas and others in the Southwestern United ...

" and the Wednesday “Enchilada Dinner Special,” which features two cheese

enchilada An enchilada (, ) is a Mexican dish consisting of a corn tortilla rolled around a filling and covered with a savory sauce. Enchiladas can be filled with various ingredients, including meats, cheese, beans, potatoes, vegetables, or combinations. ...

refried beans Refried beans (from es, frijoles refritos, ) is a dish of cooked and mashed beans that is a traditional staple of Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine, although each cuisine has a different approach when making the dish. Refried beans are also popular ...

, and

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

. According to Alfred Martinez (son of Mike Martinez), the downtown location serves about 1,200 lunches on a typical Wednesday or Friday and about that many more for dinner. After 90 years of ownership by the Martinez family, it was announced on June 5, 2008 that the family would sell the company to Dallas-based Firebird Restaurant Group LLC.

History

Originally Mike Martinez owned Martinez Café; most of its dishes were

American cuisine American cuisine consists of the cooking style and traditional dishes prepared in the United States. It has been significantly influenced by Europeans, indigenous Native Americans, Africans, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and many other cultures an ...

. It was converted into El Fenix on September 15, 1918. The name was chosen since a phoenix signifies a rebirth. The original restaurant was in

Downtown Dallas Downtown Dallas is the central business district (CBD) of Dallas, Dallas, Texas, United States, located in the geographic center of the city. It is the second-largest business district in the state of Texas. The area termed "Downtown" has tradit ...

.Rosales, Christina.
Dallas-based El Fenix restaurants celebrate 93 years of Tex-Mex tradition

Archive
. ''

The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...

''. September 20, 2011. Updated September 21, 2011. Retrieved on September 21, 2014. In the 1960s the original restaurant closed. In 1965 the original restaurant re-opened across the street at 1601 McKinney Avenue. In 2008 the Martinez family sold the chain to Firebird Restaurant Group LLC. The Martinez family used the code name Firebird when selling the chain. Firebird president Mike Karns paid the Martinez family over $30 million in cash; this was the family's asking price. At the time the annual sales were $33 million and there were 15 restaurants.Hall, Cheryl.
Mike Karns has big plans for El Fenix, Snuffer’s chains

Archive
. ''

''. March 1, 2014. Updated March 3, 2014. Retrieved on September 21, 2014. In 2011 there were 20 El Fenix restaurants in Texas. By 2014, the number of El Fenix restaurants had increased to 22 restaurants, and an El Fenix had opened at the

WinStar World Casino WinStar World Casino and Resort is an American tribal casino and hotel located in Thackerville, Oklahoma, near the Oklahoma–Texas state line. It is owned and operated by the Chickasaw Nation. The casino opened as the WinStar Casinos in 2004, a ...

in Oklahoma. Karnes expected that the annual sales in 2014 would be at least $50 million. That year, Karnes stated that he planned to expand the chain in Oklahoma,

East Texas East Texas is a broadly defined cultural, geographic, and ecological region in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Texas that comprises most of 41 counties. It is primarily divided into Northeast and Southeast Texas. Most of the region consi ...

, and

West Texas West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the arid and semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Abilene, and Del Rio. No consensus exists on the boundary betwee ...

Corporate headquarters

The parent company of El Fenix is headquartered in

Uptown Dallas Uptown is a PID (public improvement district) and a dense neighborhood in Dallas, Texas. Uptown is north of and adjacent to downtown Dallas, and is bordered by US 75 ( Central Expressway) on the east, N Haskell Avenue on the northeast, the Katy ...

. It announced its plans to acquire this building in 2012. Previously El Fenix had its headquarters in the 11075 Harry Hines Boulevard building, which had of space. It had about of office space, warehouses, and manufacturing facilities, and was built in the mid-1960s.Brown, Steve.
Former El Fenix headquarters sells to beverage maker

. ''

''. April 24, 2013. Retrieved on September 21, 2014. In 2011 El Fenix Corp. announced that the former headquarters were for sale. The individuals marketing the former El Fenix building were Mark Miller of NAI Robert Lynn, Jim Svidron, and James Collins. In 2013, Tweaker Energy Drinks purchased the former El Fenix headquarters.

Locations

As of March 13, 2018 there are 22 North Texas locations:
www.elfenix.com

Dallas locations

(original location) *

Casa Linda Casa Linda Estates, or simply Casa Linda is a neighborhood in east Dallas, Texas (USA). It is situated to the south and east of White Rock Lake and to the south of Garland Road ( SH 78). It is in Dallas Council District 9.Oak Cliff Oak Cliff is a neighborhood of Dallas, Texas, that was formerly a separate town in Dallas County; Dallas annexed Oak Cliff in 1901. It has since retained a distinct neighborhood identity as one of Dallas' older established neighborhoods. Oak Cl ...

* Oak Lawn (Lemmon @ Inwood) *North Dallas (Northwest Highway @ Hillcrest) *Lake Highlands (Skillman @ Audelia) *Northwest Dallas (Forest @ Webb Chapel)

Suburban locations

Addison Addison may refer to: Places Canada * Addison, Ontario United States *Addison, Alabama *Addison, Illinois *Addison Street in Chicago, Illinois which runs by Wrigley Field * Addison, Kentucky *Addison, Maine *Addison, Michigan *Addison, New York ...

* Arlington * Burleson * Denton *

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

(Camp Bowie area) *

Grapevine ''Vitis'' (grapevine) is a genus of 79 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus is made up of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, b ...

* Irving (183 & Airport Freeway) * Lewisville *

McKinney McKinney is a city in and the county seat of Collin County, Texas. It is Collin County's third-largest city, after Plano and Frisco. A suburb of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, McKinney is about north of Dallas. The U.S. Census Bureau lis ...

Mesquite Mesquite is a common name for several plants in the genus ''Prosopis'', which contains over 40 species of small leguminous trees. They are native to dry areas in the Americas. They have extremely long roots to seek water from very far under grou ...

* Plano *

Waxahachie Waxahachie ( ) is the seat of government of Ellis County, Texas, United States. Its population was 41,140 in 2020. Etymology Some sources state that the name means "cow" or "buffalo" in an unspecified Native American language. One possible ...

* Weatherford *

Wichita Falls Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the seat of government of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita counties. Accordin ...

In addition the chain operates a store inside

Winstar World Casino WinStar World Casino and Resort is an American tribal casino and hotel located in Thackerville, Oklahoma, near the Oklahoma–Texas state line. It is owned and operated by the Chickasaw Nation. The casino opened as the WinStar Casinos in 2004, a ...

References

External links

El Fenix
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fenix Companies based in Dallas Restaurants in Dallas Mexican restaurants in Texas Restaurants established in 1918