El Chico Cafe

About

El Chico has been a Broken Arrow Tex-Mex tradition since 1985. Visit General Manager James Jackson and his amazing staff and enjoy El Chico's top-quality Mexican food favorites with fresh new specialties of today

Story

It was almost a century ago that Macario Cuellar and his wife Adelaida packed their belongings, said their goodbyes and put Mexico behind them.

Ahead lay Texas and a small town called Kaufman. Here they would work the land. Raise 12 sons and daughters. And see a family tradition take root and grow.

It’s a tradition that began with delicious beans, rice and chili that came from Mama Adelaida’s renowned kitchen. It continued with her county fair tamale stand in 1926. And later with her own restaurant in downtown Kaufman where she did the cooking, her sons performed rancho songs. And the Cuellar legend flourished.

Eventually, Mama’s boys laid their guitars down and went their separate ways. But in 1940, Frank, Mack, Alfred, Gilbert and Willie Jack took their mother’s famous recipes, her strong work ethic, and her determination to succeed and opened their doors to the first El Chico restaurant in Dallas, Texas.

El Chico was unlike any other restaurant the city had ever seen. The décor was festive with colorful Mexican artifacts. The service had a personal touch. And as for the food, it was so deliciously different that people didn’t know how to describe it. But when Gilbert Cuellar called it “Texas-style Mexican food,” the name “Tex-Mex” stuck.

With a reputation for attracting customers like John Wayne, Grace Kelly and Ronald Reagan, the Cuellar brothers soon saw the need for more of a good thing.

Today, El Chico Restaurants can be found throughout the Southern United States. And the Cuellar recipes, work ethic and determination can still be found in the kitchen.
Preparing Mama’s dishes. Creating new ones. Perpetuating a family’s pride and tradition.

We welcome you to the tradition of El Chico and thank you for giving us the opportunity to serve you for over 70 years. Our family looks forward to serving you for many years to come.

Bienvenido!