Felix Louis Stehling, Jr. (April 2, 1927 – December 10, 2012) was an American businessman and restaurateur. Stehling and his brother Mike Stehling co-founded

Taco Cabana A taco (, , ) is a traditional Mexican cuisine, Mexican food consisting of a small hand-sized corn tortilla, corn- or Flour tortilla, wheat-based tortilla topped with a Stuffing, filling. The tortilla is then folded around the filling and fing ...

, a fast food restaurant chain specializing in Tex-Mex cuisine, in 1978. Stehling is credited as the inventor of the beanburger, a now common dish in the

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

area, consisting of refried beans,

Fritos Fritos is an American brand of corn chips and dipping sauces that was created in 1932 by Charles Elmer Doolin and produced since 1961 by the Frito-Lay division of PepsiCo. Fritos are made by deep-frying extruded whole cornmeal, unlike the simila ...

and

Cheez Whiz Cheez Whiz is a brand of processed cheese sauce or spread produced by Kraft Foods. It was developed by a team led by food scientist Edwin Traisman (1915–2007). It was first sold in 1952, and with some changes in formulation continues to be in ...

Early life and education

Stehling was born in Fredericksburg, Texas, the second oldest of his family's eleven children. His parents were German Catholics who operated a men's clothing store."Tempest in a Taco"
'' Texas Monthly'' He graduated from St. Mary's University in San Antonio.

Career

First restaurants and beanburger

Stehling initially worked for an insurance company, but left that industry after just two years. He then owned and operated a series of restaurants and nightclubs in San Antonio, including the Crystal Pistol and the Bombay Bicycle Club. In 1952, he signed a three-year lease to rent a small, shack-like restaurant on Austin Highway from Frank Sills, the owner of the first Sills' Snack Shack. It was here that Stehling invented and first offered the beanburger. Stehling is credited as the inventor of the beanburger, a now common dish in the

area, consisting of refried beans,

and

. Frank Sills later sold Stehling's beanburger creation at his own restaurants once Stehling's lease on the building expired.

Taco Cabana

In 1978, Stehling and his brother, Mike, opened the first

in San Antonio at the intersection of Hildebrand and San Pedro streets at the site of a former Dairy Queen, dubbing the restaurant "the original Mexican patio café". Felix Stehling's wife, Billie Jo Stehling, created the décor and overall interior look for the restaurant chain. Margie Lopez Abonce was hired to prepare the food and menu. They made it a 24-hour restaurant because Felix Stehling didn't want to spend an hour every night working with patio furniture. Mike Stehling later left the company in 1986. Felix Stehling kept five restaurants and the name, while Mike Stehling kept four outlets and renamed them TaCasita. As of 1989, Stehling remained president of the company."How a Humble Cut Got a Fancy Price"
Florence Fabricant, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', 1989 Stehling made Taco Cabana a

public company A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (l ...

when the chain reached fifty stores, including locations in

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

and

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. However, in 1994 Taco Cabana's board of directors ousted Stehling from the company.

Spurs and charity

Stehling was once a partial owner of the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

. Outside of Texas, Stehling held real estate investments in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. He founded a charity which provided funding for the Special Olympics of Texas, his alma mater, St. Mary's University, and other charitable groups.

Personal life

He married Billie Jo Stehling in 1960. He had two stepsons. As he grew older, he continued to pick up meals from Taco Cabana for him and his wife."Alamo City an incubator for fast-food chains"
''

San Antonio Express-News The ''San Antonio Express-News'' is a daily newspaper in San Antonio, Texas. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation and has offices in San Antonio and Austin, Texas. The ''Express-News'' is the third largest newspaper in the state of Texas, with ...

'', Richard Webner, June 9, 2015 Billie Jo died on May 6, 2011, at the age of 86. Stehling, who suffered from

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

during his later years, died on December 10, 2012, at the age of 85.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stehling, Felix 1927 births 2012 deaths Fast-food chain founders American food company founders American restaurateurs St. Mary's University, Texas alumni Businesspeople from San Antonio People from Fredericksburg, Texas American people of German descent 20th-century American businesspeople Deaths from dementia