Maria Ninfa Rodriguez Laurenzo (nicknamed Mama Ninfa,
." Ninfa Laurenzo Early Childhood Center. Retrieved on February 4, 2012. May 11, 1924 – June 17, 2001), born with the family name Rodriguez,Linnee, Susan.
Poor Widow is Now Texas Taco Queen
" ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

'' at the '' Youngstown Daily Vindicator''. Wednesday April 26, 1978. Page 70. Retrieved on February 4, 2012. was an American restaurateur from

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 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

who founded the restaurant

Ninfa's The Original Ninfa's on Navigation is a popular Mexican restaurant located at 2704 Navigation Boulevard in Houston, Texas. The restaurant serves both Tex-Mex cuisine, Tex-Mex and Mexican cuisine. The Original Ninfa's was started by Ninfa Rodr� ...

. Laurenzo started out running a single

taco stand A taco stand or taquería is a food stall, food cart or restaurant that specializes in tacos and other Mexican dishes. The food is typically prepared quickly and tends to be inexpensive. Many various ingredients may be used, and various taco st ...

, Texas.

History

Early history

Ninfa Rodriguez, a

Mexican-American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

Catholic,Huynh, Dai.
Restaurateur Mama Ninfa dies

. ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...

''. Monday June 18, 2001. A1. Retrieved on February 5, 2012. was born on May 11, 1924 in

Harlingen, Texas Harlingen ( ) is a city in Cameron County in the central region of the Rio Grande Valley of the southern part of the U.S. state of Texas, about from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The city covers more than and is the second-largest city in ...

. Rodriguez, one of twelve brothers and sisters, was raised in Harlingen. She graduated from Henrietta M. King High School in Kingsville and Durhan Business School in Harlingen. Rodriguez's father grew crops in a patch of farmland in the

Rio Grande Valley The Lower Rio Grande Valley ( es, Valle del Río Grande), commonly known as the Rio Grande Valley or locally as the Valley or RGV, is a region spanning the border of Texas and Mexico located in a floodplain of the Rio Grande near its mouth. The ...

. In 1945 she visited her twin sister, Pilar Di Meo, in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

. During her visit, she met Domenic Thomas Laurenzo, a graduate of the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

. Laurenzo, a native of

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

, was of Italian descent. Rodriguez, who had nicknamed Domenic Laurenzo "D.T.," married him. In 1947 their first child, Roland, was born. The couple considered whether to move to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. They read a 1948 newspaper article that stated that Houston was the fastest growing city in the United States. Tony Mandola, Ninfa Laurenzo's son in law and a member of the Mandola restaurant family, said that they decided to go to Houston after flipping a coin. In 1949, they opened the Rio Grande Tortilla Company factory, which sold pizza dough and tortillas. The couple entered the business even though both of them had professional degrees. The factory was located in a Hispanic community in the

East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

. The Laurenzos lived in a wooden frame house next to the factory. The couple had four more children, with Jack born in 1949, Phyllis born in 1953, Tom born in 1958, and Gino born in 1963. The family sent the children to an area parochial private school. Domenic Laurenzo died of a

brain hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

in 1969.

Restaurateur career

Ninfa Laurenzo's factory was in trouble due to increased competition and decreased profit margins. In 1973 Laurenzo opened a 10 table restaurant in front of her tortilla factory in order to financially stay afloat. The restaurant,

, became very popular and it became her core business. She did not have prior restaurant management experience.Ninfa Laurenzo
."

Texas Woman's University Texas Woman's University (TWU) is a public coeducational university in Denton, Texas, with two health science center-focused campuses in Dallas and Houston. While TWU has been fully co-educational since 1994, it is the largest state-supported u ...

. Retrieved on February 6, 2012. While at the restaurant, Laurenzo greeted guests, watched over the kitchen operations, and sometimes sang songs in an alto voice. Joe Pratt, a professor of business and history of the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

, said "In the 1980s, Ninfa became a symbol of the city's growing diversity and the opportunity for people who hadn't always had opportunities here. She is a powerful image in Houston."Hassell, Greg.
While the new investors who stepped in to save the Houston chain from closing vow changes, diners may not notice / Resetting the table at Ninfa's
" ''

''. Sunday December 7, 1997. Business 1. Retrieved on February 6, 2012. Available at the

Houston Public Library Houston Public Library is the public library system serving Houston, Texas, United States. History Houston Lyceum and the Carnegie Library The Houston Public Library system traces its founding to the creation of the second Houston Lyceum in 18 ...

website, accessible with a library card. In addition to Ninfa's, as part of

RioStar Corp. RioStar Corporation was an American restaurant holding corporation controlled by Ninfa Laurenzo and her family. The company controlled the Ninfa's, Bambolino's, and Atchafalaya River Cafe brands. In March 1990, RioStar had 22 employees working in ...

Ninfa Laurenzo and her family established other restaurant ventures.Elder, Laura Elizabeth. "Rapid expansion caused Ninfa's debt woes, says restaurant official." ''

Houston Business Journal American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes The Business Journals, which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States, Hemmings Motor News ...

''. Sunday November 3, 1996
3
Retrieved on February 6, 2012. Laurenzo had developed Diego's, a fast food takeout restaurant that specialized in soft tacos. The family sold Diego's to partners in 1978.Levinson, Brian.
Ninfa's to open chain of fast-food Italian restaurants
" ''

''. Tuesday February 17, 1987. Business 1. Retrieved on February 6, 2012. In April 1987 Laurenzo started " Bambolino's Italian Drive-Thru," a restaurant offering pizza by the slice. She also established Joey Jack's Seafood, a seafood restaurant. Bambolino's was the Laurenzo family's second attempt in making an Italian-American restaurant. In 1986 it started Laurenzo's Italian Bar & Grille, a full-service restaurant developed by Ninfa's personnel for McFaddin Ventures, which was involved in a joint venture with Ninfa's. Laurenzo's Italian Bar & Grille lost $461,000 in three months, and McFaddin Ventures closed it in August of that year. The Laurenzo family hoped that the increasing trend of carry-out food would help the Bambolino's success. RioStar acquired several Atchafalaya River Cafes, and then later closed and sold several of them. Laura Elder of the ''

'' said that RioStar had "tried an experiment with Italian food that didn't pan out." In 1996 RioStar operated several Ninfa's locations, one Bambolino's restaurant, and one Atchafalaya River Cafe. In October of that year,

Sysco Sysco Corporation (short for Systems and Services Company) is an American multinational corporation involved in marketing and distributing food products, smallwares, kitchen equipment and tabletop items to restaurants, healthcare and education ...

filed an involuntary bankruptcy petition against RioStar in an attempt to force the company to pay $2.8 million in debts accumulated from the company's expansion. RioStar filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...

.Elder, Laura Elizabeth. "Rapid expansion caused Ninfa's debt woes, says restaurant official." ''

''. Sunday November 3, 1996
1
Retrieved on February 6, 2012. In 1998 Serrano's Cafe, an

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

-based company, acquired RioStar as part of the bankruptcy protection settlement. The family was no longer involved in Ninfa's.

Personal life

Laurenzo resided in the Second Ward. Many people referred to Ninfa Laurenzo as simply "Mama." Her daughter, Phyllis Laurenzo Mandola, said " seems like everyone in the world would call her Mama" and that Ninfa Laurenzo did not mind if someone called her "Mama" unless the person was a man who was older than she was.Vuong, Mary.
Matriarch of Tex-Mex
" ''

''. Thursday November 10, 2005. Retrieved on February 6, 2012. Many people who knew Laurenzo considered her a mother figure, and Tony Mandola, Phyllis's husband, said "Everybody knew that they could come to her for advice." Laurenzo sat on the boards of several foundations and organizations. She was a founding board member, in 1970, for the Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans (AAMA). Later board positions included those of the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center, the

Houston Community College System Houston Community College (HCC), also known as Houston Community College System (HCCS) is a Public college, public community college system that operates community colleges in Houston, Texas, Houston, Missouri City, Texas, Missouri City, Greater ...

Foundation, the Houston International Festival Foundation, the Houston Hispanic Forum, the Houston Metro Authority, the

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

, and the University Cancer Foundation-

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (colloquially MD Anderson Cancer Center) is a comprehensive cancer center in Houston, Texas. It is the largest cancer center in the U.S. and one of the original three comprehensive cancer centers ...

Political involvement

Laurenzo participated in Republican politics.Ninfa Rodriguez Laurenzo, restaurant pioneer, dies at 77 'Mama' credited with bringing tacos al carbon, fajitas to U.S.
''Associated Press'' at ''The Dallas Morning News''. June 19, 2001. She was a personal friend of President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

.Decker, Cathleen. "'92 REPUBLICAN CONVENTION : GOP Faithful Ponder if Party Will Unite Behind Bush : Election: Some see the convention as the jump-off point for a strong campaign. Others wonder if it's too little, too late." ''Los Angeles Times''. August 17, 1992
2
In 1984, Bush, then Vice President, appointed her as one of the five goodwill ambassadors to welcome Pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

in Puerto Rico. Laurenzo's children said that this was the proudest moment in her life. In 1988, while in New Orleans, Louisiana, she delivered a speech that seconded Bush's nomination for president in that year's election. She led the

Pledge of Allegiance The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States is a patriotic recited verse that promises allegiance to the flag of the United States and the republic of the United States of America. The first version, with a text different from the one used ...

at the opening session of the

1992 Republican National Convention The 1992 Republican National Convention was held in the Astrodome in Houston, Texas, from August 17 to August 20, 1992. The convention nominated President George H. W. Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle for reelection. It was Bush's fourth co ...

on August 17, 1992.

Health and death

In June 1999 Laurenzo was diagnosed with breast cancer. Breast cancer killed three of her sisters, including her twin sister Pilar. Laurenzo served as the key note speaker of a cancer forum, giving a speech to 2,000 people. The forum was sponsored by the Reach to Recovery of the

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. Established in 1913, the society is organized into six geographical regions of both medical and lay volunteers operating in more than ...

. In 2000 she underwent a

mastectomy Mastectomy is the medical term for the surgical removal of one or both breasts, partially or completely. A mastectomy is usually carried out to treat breast cancer. In some cases, women believed to be at high risk of breast cancer have the operat ...

to treat her breast cancer. Ninfa Laurenzo died of

bone cancer A bone tumor is an abnormal growth of tissue in bone, traditionally classified as noncancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant). Cancerous bone tumors usually originate from a cancer in another part of the body such as from lung, breast, thyro ...

at the age of 77, on Sunday June 17, 2001. Members of Houston's business and political communities attended her funeral.Goodman, John.
Ninfa's put fajitas on the map
" ''

North Shore News Glacier Media is a Canadian business information and media products company. It provides news, market information and sector-specific data within North America and internationally. Glacier is headquartered in Vancouver. Its primary operations a ...

''. August 19, 2011. Retrieved on February 4, 2012. On the week of her death, members of

Houston City Council The Houston City Council is a city council for the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas. Currently, there are sixteen members, 11 elected from council districts and five at-large. The members of the Council are elected every four years, w ...

postponed their meeting so they could attend Laurenzo's funeral.Schadewald, Bill. "'Mama Ninfa' the mother of all entrepreneurs." ''

''. Sunday June 25, 2001
2
Retrieved on February 6, 2012.

Awards and honors

In 1979 the Texas Restaurant Association gave her the "Woman Restaurateur of the Year" award. In 1988 Laurenzo was inducted into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame. The National Hispanic Chamber of Commerce gave her the 1994 "Business Woman of the Year" award. Mesinger, Maxine.
Franchising's a new trick for great old dogs
" ''

''. Sunday April 17, 1994. Zest 7. Retrieved on February 4, 2012. She also received the Humanitarian Award of the

Arthritis Foundation The Arthritis Foundation is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to addressing the needs of people living with arthritis in the United States. There are more than 50 million adults and 300,000 children living with arthritis, the nation's l ...

, the "Women in Foodservice Pacesetter's Award" of the Roundtable for Women in Foodservice, and the "Business Recognition Award" of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Rosemary Kent, the author of the 1981 edition of ''The Genuine Texas Handbook'', listed Laurenzo as a person to include in a hypothetical Texas chef hall of fame. Laurenzo, a grandmother of a student at

The Regis School of the Sacred Heart ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

, was honored at the annual "The Regis Merci" celebration on Wednesday April 13, 1994. The celebration honors individuals who were instrumental to the school's operations.

Mayor of Houston The following is a list of people who have served as mayor of the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas. Until 2015, the term of the mayor was two years. Beginning with the tenure of Bob Lanier, the city charter imposed term limits on offi ...

Bob Lanier Robert Jerry Lanier Jr. (September 10, 1948 – May 10, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who was a center for the Detroit Pistons and the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Lanier was inducted int ...

declared that day "Ninfa Laurenzo Day" and presented this proclamation to her at the celebration.

Legacy

Since Laurenzo's death, her children became involved in restaurant ventures in the United States. Roland Laurenzo, his wife Blanca, and their son Domenic operated two El Tiempo Cantina locations which has now grown to eight El Tiempo Cantina Restaurants, Laurenzo's restaurant and an El Tiempo Taqueria. They also have three other sons; Dante, Rocco and Joseph who also help with the family restaurant business. Phyllis Laurenzo Mandola and her husband Tony Mandola operate Tony Mandola's Gulf Coast Kitchen. The Mandolas also own a small restaurant shop located beneath the triangle in Austin, TX. Gino Laurenzo operates Rio Grande Tex-Mex Grill in Washington Mills, New York.Cook, Allison.
Laurenzo's hard to explain, fun to eat
" ''

''. Wednesday July 14, 2010. Retrieved on February 6, 2012. The family later established the restaurant "Laurenzo's" on

Washington Avenue Washington Avenue may refer to: United States * Washington Avenue (Miami Beach) in Miami Beach, Florida * Washington Avenue (Milford Mill, Maryland) * Washington Avenue (Towson, Maryland) * Washington Avenue (Minneapolis), a major street in Minne ...

. Domenic Laurenzo served as the lead chef. Other individuals involved in the original Ninfa's business became involved in restaurant ventures in

Greater Houston Greater Houston, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land, is the fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States, encompassing nine counties along the Gulf Co ...

. The Ninfa R. Laurenzo Early Childhood Center, a

Houston Independent School District The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest public school system in Texas, and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and ...

school, is named after her. It opened in the northern hemisphere fall of 2004. Michael Cordúa, who established the Cordúa restaurant chain, credited Laurenzo as an inspiration as he had asked her for advice.

References

External links

*
Ninfa Rodriguez Laurenzo Papers, 1971-2001
"

Libraries. *
Ninfa Laurenzo
" Texas Women's Hall of Fame,

Texas Women's University Texas Woman's University (TWU) is a public coeducational university in Denton, Texas, with two health science center-focused campuses in Dallas and Houston. While TWU has been fully co-educational since 1994, it is the largest state-supported u ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Laurenzo, Ninfa Businesspeople from Houston American restaurateurs Women restaurateurs American people of Mexican descent 1924 births 2001 deaths People from Harlingen, Texas 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesswomen Deaths from bone cancer Deaths from cancer in Texas American women company founders American company founders American food company founders Food and drink company founders Catholics from Texas