El Chico is a restaurant chain in the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

. The first restaurant opened in 1940 in Oak Lawn, 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 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. There are 16 locations.Official website
/ref> The restaurant serves a variety of

Tex-Mex 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 ...

dishes.

History

The restaurant's origin was Adelaida "Mama" Cuellar's popular homemade tamales at a county fair in 1926. Two years later, Cuellar opened Cuellar's Cafe in

Kaufman, Texas Kaufman is a city in and the county seat of Kaufman County, Texas, United States. Its population was 6,797 at the 2020 census. History Kaufman was founded as "Kings Fort", named after Dr. William P. King, who established the fort in 1840 after pu ...

. Her sons opened a cafe in Dallas using her recipes. The 11th Cuellar restaurant was located at

Six Flags Over Texas Six Flags Over Texas is a 212-acre (86 ha) amusement park, in Arlington, Texas, east of Fort Worth and west of Dallas. It is the first amusement park in the Six Flags chain, and features themed areas and attractions. The park opened on August 5, ...

amusement park, which was owned by Adelaida Cuellar's husband's employer, Angus Wynne. The Six Flags location served chicken fried steak and fried chicken to lure those unfamiliar with Mexican food into their restaurant. Most visitors to this location had never heard of

tacos A taco (, , ) is a traditional Mexican food consisting of a small hand-sized corn- or wheat-based tortilla topped with a filling. The tortilla is then folded around the filling and eaten by hand. A taco can be made with a variety of fillin ...

enchiladas 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. ...

, or

guacamole Guacamole (; (informally shortened to ''guac'' in the United States since the 1980s) is an avocado-based dip, spread, or salad first developed in Mexico. In addition to its use in modern Mexican cuisine, it has become part of international cuisi ...

before. Introducing Mexican food to America was not El Chico's only notable feat: It was also one of the early chain restaurants, with multiple locations at a time when mom-and-pop single-location restaurants ruled. Joe V. Carvajal was an integral part of the success of many of the El Chico restaurants in the 1960s and '70s. He introduced the sopapilla to Tex-Mex and American cuisine. Today, El Chico is part of Consolidated Restaurant Operations, Inc. (CRO)Consolidated Restaurants
/ref>

References

External links

Official website
Restaurants in Dallas Economy of the Southeastern United States Economy of the Southwestern United States Regional restaurant chains in the United States Restaurants established in 1940 Mexican restaurants in the United States {{US-restaurant-stub