Inside San Angelo's Tex-Mex Restaurant Business

When San Angelo booms so does its number of restaurants. With a count of over 200 eateries in a city spread across a land area just over 58 square miles, there is no doubt eating is a favorite pastime for any good ol’ San Angeloan. 

A large fraction of this superabundant restaurant industry is made up of Mexican options. But for those establishments that locals have enjoyed for decades, they’re not just another Mexican restaurant, but rather, a family tradition.

“Food has a lot of significance in our culture; that’s all we do is eat,” said Roy Rodriguez, current owner of Fernandez Restaurant, with a chuckle.

The Fernandez Tradition

For the past 48 years, Fernandez Restaurant has been operating in the same place, under the same family, with the same Tex-Mex style food.

At 28 years old, Rodriguez started working in the kitchen with original owner Juan Fernandez.

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Above: Roy Rodriguez bought Fernandez Restaurant from his in-laws 10 years ago (Photo by Tony Garcia)

“I worked for them, but then I would go and work somewhere else for a little while. Then I’d come back and go back and forth between jobs,” Rodriguez recalled.

However, Rodriguez’s ties to the restaurant grew a little tighter when he tied the knot with the owners’ daughter, Elsa Fernandez Rodriguez.

“Elsa was the one [who] was always there. That’s how we met. Elsa was the only girl and would learn from watching her father, Juan. She learned how to do everything, even cutting the meats,” Rodriguez said of his wife.

Additionally, prior to becoming Fernandez Restaurant, the building was operated as another restaurant, and Elsa’s mother, Anita Fernandez, worked next door running a bar.

“The owner of the building asked if she would want to buy the restaurant. She agreed and changed the bar into another dinning area,” Rodriguez said.

As Juan and Anita Fernandez began to reach retirement age, they were reluctant to give up working at the the business they had devoted themselves to since 1967.

“At first, Anita didn’t want to let go; but then she thought and she thought, and she decided to sell it to us 10 years ago. Really we started 11 years ago. We rented the first year from them. Then after the first year, I guess she thought, ‘Well, they can do it.’ Sure enough after that we made a contract,” Rodriguez said.

Although Anita Fernandez passed away three years ago and Juan Fernandez is no longer there every day, their presence at the restaurant has not ceased. Only now, customers see the couple through their grandsons.

“We come in everyday: my wife and my four boys,” Rodriguez stated. “Jason, Roy Jr., Lorenzo and Andrew, they all help out waiting on tables, cooking and washing dishes.”

Rodriguez believes, after almost 50 years since his in-laws first opened Fernandez Restaurant, the key to its success is the generations of family involvement. 

“Nobody can do the work like you do, like we do. It’s all my boys and my wife, and we have maybe two dishwashers; we do all the work,” he said.

The Hogeda Tradition

Doing the work themselves and raising a family in the restaurant is tradition for San Angelo’s longstanding Mexican Restaurants, including The Original Henry’s Diner.

With over 60 employees now, the Hogeda family also credits the growth of their business to the unbounded involvement of their family.

Above: Henry and Ofelia Hogeda have owned and operated The Original Henry’s diner since 1973 (Photo by Tony Garcia)

“The family is everywhere. It’s not unfamiliar to see Henry bussing tables and sweeping. It’s not like they say, ‘Hey you do this.’ No, they are going to jump in and do the same thing,” said Michelle Gomez, account executive for The Original Henry’s Diner.

Rosa Torres, daughter of owners Henry and Ofelia Hogeda, said, “It’s a family business, so you are never going to come in here and not see a family member. We are hands on.”

Their family business started in 1973 when Henry Hogeda, a carpet layer, decided cooking was his passion. After being a cook for Zentner’s in Rowena as well as another restaurant in Beaumont, Hogeda decided to open up his own place.

“It was on MLK which is Franco’s right now. It was an empty building, but half the size it is today. So we only had three tables and two booths. That’s all we started off with, five little tables,” Torres said of the first restaurant her father opened.

There Henry Hogeda and his wife Ofelia worked with three other employees and soon put their young children to work also.

Torres said, “I started off as a bus girl, and my brother Henry started off as a dishwasher. We were in elementary school; we were like 8 or 9 years old. It’s all we know.”

The customers soon outgrew the restaurant’s five tables, and the Hogedas relocated a couple of times before settling in at the current location in 1982.

“It is a challenge,” Torres said. “It’s hard to attend functions because you’re having to be here all the time. It’s not normal eight to five hours and we aren’t off weekends.”

Torres recently wanted to become a nurse and attended nursing school, but due to her parents’ health, she postponed her final semester.

She said, “I decided to give up that dream until later, for the future. They come first and it’s important for family to run the business. Customers just love that we’re here. They even tell us, ‘Its not the same when you aren’t here.’”

As much as the customers enjoy seeing the familiar faces of Henry’s Diner, the Hogedas too have enjoyed seeing and getting to know the regular customers throughout their 42 years of business

Henry Hogeda Jr. said having repeat customers is what lets them know they are doing their job right.

Torres added, “Having the satisfied, repetitive customers that have supported us through all the years and being able to help some 60 other employees make a living is what makes it all worth it.”

The family dynamic of the restaurant extends past the customer and owner relation.

Below: Henry Hogeda Jr. prepares a customer's order in the kitchen (Photo by Tony Garcia)

Gomez explained that being part of the staff at The Original Henry’s Diner is like being a part of the family too.

She said, “Even though it’s a hard place to work, they really, with their employees, are always willing to help them out. If you’re going through hard times, they understand.”

As for the family, Torres said, “The first generation is still here; the second is here. We’re hoping the third generation kicks in.”

The Fuentes Tradition

As for John Fuentes, owner of Fuentes Cafe Downtown, he is hoping for the same.

“I have my daughter Olivia, my sister-in-law and nephew who work for me. Throughout the years, we have hired numerous relatives to help operate the restaurant,” Fuentes said of his business.

Since opening in 1984, Fuentes explained that there is really only one great challenge—competing with the big chains.

Below: Fuentes Cafe Downtown displays this neon sign from The Original Fuentes on Avenue K (Photo Courtesy of Fuentes Cafe Downtown)

Fuentes said, “We have to offer [customers] what they won’t get anywhere else. We focus on having a good product come out with a good flavor, and strive to serve it in a hot and timely manner.”

More importantly, he added, is personal service. “We try and make sure all of our customers are happy with not just the food but the service. That is what having a family owned restaurant is all about,” Fuentes noted.

The restaurant, located downtown in a “semi-historical” building, is also a tale of the Fuentes family’s lineage in the restaurant industry.

“My dad and his brothers opened up The Original Fuentes on Avenue K,” the owner said. “With the help of my dad, my wife and I opened up our own place here.”

For that reason, Fuentes has an even more enduring account to keep his restaurant running.

With 31 years operating his restaurant, he said, “Eventually we hope a family member will continue the tradition.”

A sentiment that all three restaurant owners could agree to, Torres said, “Of course, after all these years, we wouldn’t be here in 2015 without God.”

Therefore, the next time Mexican food lovers order a combination plate and served with two tacos and two enchiladas with a side of rice and beans, they will know it’s more than a meal. For the restaurant owners, the food is an exhibit of their legacy—a legacy of food, family and faith.

If you haven't learned the story of Julio's Corn Chips and their San Angelo connection, click here.