Ana’s Restaurant, in Dallas, doubled its sales after a video on social media attracted hundreds of people. The family restaurant is owned by Andrés Soto (left) and Georgina Rosales (center). Andrea Soto (right), their daughter, posted a video on social media that went viral.
Imelda García/Staff writer
Like many restaurants in North Texas, Ana’s Restaurant was going through a tough time with few customers. But a video that racked up more than half a million views on social media changed everything.
For years, this Mexican restaurant located at 4626 Maple Ave. in Dallas survived thanks to longtime customers, word-of-mouth recommendations and the daily efforts of its owners.
Behind the business are Andrés Soto and Georgina Rosales, a married couple originally from the state of Hidalgo, Mexico, who opened the restaurant in 2008, though they’ve been at the current location since 2016.
Article continues below this ad
Since last year, it became increasingly difficult to keep the restaurant afloat due to the high cost of supplies, the fact that people weren’t dining out as much to save money, and the ICE presence near the restaurant. Many of their regular customers were Hispanic and stopped frequenting the area.
“People were afraid to come here. That really affected us,” explained Andrea Soto, the owners’ daughter, who works at the restaurant.
Some of the dishes served at Ana’s Restaurant are Chilaquiles with carne asada and egg (center), chicken enchiladas (left), and flautas – crispy chicken tacos (right).
Imelda García/Staff writer
To counteract the impact of all that, Andrea posted a video on the restaurant’s social media on May 14, and in just a few hours, it changed the reality of the business. She didn’t do it with a rescue campaign in mind and wasn’t expecting big results.
“It wasn’t an SOS. I didn’t think it was going to go viral. I hadn’t posted on TikTok in months,” Andrea said.
Article continues below this ad
The video showed some of the restaurant’s dishes and talked about the difficulties the family business was facing.
The response exceeded all expectations. The TikTok post racked up over half a million views and generated more than 2,000 comments. Starting that very afternoon, new customers began to arrive.
“We knew something was happening because people were coming in asking for flautas and enchiladas — exactly what was shown in the video,” Andrea said.
What followed was a sudden transformation. The family estimates that sales grew by 100% in just a few days. The restaurant, which used to go hours without customers, began filling up as soon as it opened its doors.
“We open at 9:30 a.m., and sometimes we wouldn’t get our first customer until 11. Now there are days when we have a line of people waiting to get in,” Andrea said.
Article continues below this ad
Andrés Soto, co-owner of Ana’s Restaurant, is in charge of making the corn tortillas.
Imelda García/Staff writer
The restaurant’s success also comes with new challenges, as it seats about 70 people and has insufficient parking, which hasn’t stopped consumers from visiting it. Additionally, since it’s a family-run restaurant, operations still rely on Andrea’s parents.
In the early days, family and friends pitched in to help the family serve customers, but they’ve now hired four new employees.
Part of the appeal of Ana’s Restaurant is that it serves authentic Mexican food, a far cry from Tex-Mex style. Since several of its customers have requested dishes not on the menu, the restaurant is now considering adding some of those items, such as cheese with chips or enchiladas with yellow cheese. But they are not so sure about that.
For Andrea, the most important thing has been seeing how a family legacy built over nearly two decades has found new diners who are trying the dishes cooked by her parents’ hands.
Article continues below this ad
“We’re so grateful. We thought it would only last a weekend, but we’ve been busy every day. The community really surprised us, and we thank them for supporting us.”
Ana’s Restaurant is located at 4626 Maple Ave., Dallas. anasrestrauntdallas.com.