Since we introduced \u201cJim Duncan\u2019s Austin\u201d on July 6, 2025, among his most popular histories are those recalling the city\u2019s beloved bars, clubs and eateries. This week, we adapt four more of his Tex-Mex restaurant chronicles. Bonus: Three of the four are excellent Father’s Day tales. \u2014 Michael Barnes<\/p>\n
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1980: Juan in a Million<\/p>\n
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Folks wave at members passing in the 4th of July Barrio Parade as they wait for a table at Juan In A Million in Austin on June 30, 2012.<\/p>\n
Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
Juan Pablo and Myrna Yolanda Meza opened the popular East Austin spot at 2300 East Cesar Chavez St. in 1980. In addition to local acclaim, the restaurant has received national and international press from outlets such as USA Today and the BBC.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Menu favorites include the migas plate, huevos rancheros, con queso breakfast and the famous Don Juan El Taco Grande \u2014 a heaping plate of bacon, potatoes, eggs and cheese on a warm tortilla. It\u2019s the most popular item thanks to college students looking for a filling meal at a price that doesn\u2019t break the bank. Some say it can feed a family of four. There\u2019s even an ongoing contest to see who can eat the most Don Juans in one sitting. The record is currently 13.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Today, Juan in a Million remains a family business with son Juan Jr., managing day-to-day operations and daughter Christina managing media relations. Juan says the secret to survival is owning your real estate: “We would have closed down years ago if we were leasing. You want to have control over what is going on around you. That was the initial intent. We kept investing, and now we have a real estate company and a restaurant.<\/p>\n
As for expansion, he says, \u201cI thought about it, but it’s hard to be in multiple places at the same time. We don’t want to dilute it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1981: Baby Acapulco<\/p>\n
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A group of friends at\u00a0Baby Acapulco’s former Barton Springs Road location.<\/p>\n
Austin 360<\/p>\n
Credited as the inventor of the Purple Rita and Fruity Ritas, Baby Acapulco or \u201cBaby A\u2019s,\u201d as it is more often referred to, has made an interesting contribution to Tex-Mex drinks and dishes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Before 1988, it operated as Casa Acapulco. With two current Austin-area locations \u2014 1705 South Lakeshore Blvd. and 9505 Stonelake Blvd. \u2014 Baby A\u2019s is a Mexican restaurant chain founded by Jerry Soto and Margaret Helen Sanchez that has been serving the Austin area for over four decades.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In addition to its Tex-Mex menu and colorful margaritas, the restaurant is also known for its signature tortilla soup and lively atmosphere. An Austin Chronicle food critic once said, \u201cTry this place for great enchiladas and popular flavored margaritas that should come with warning stickers: Muy Bueno!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The restaurant also provides live music on weekends. Baby A\u2019s is now owned and operated by Soto and his daughter Clarita Sanchez Ramirez. In 2024, the chain closed its longstanding Barton Springs Road location.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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1984: Manuel\u2019s<\/p>\n
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Manuel\u2019s Great Hills remains despite plans to replace that location with denser development.<\/p>\n
Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
While pursuing a graduate degree in Latin American studies at the University of Texas, Gregory Scott Koury got the idea for Manuel\u2019s. Rather than typical Tex-Mex fare, his vision was to create authentic dishes from Mexico\u2019s interior and coastal regions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Giving kudos to the Fonda San Miguel founders for opening a market for regional Mexican food, Koury says, \u201cThey bulldozed those walls in Austin and educated this public greatly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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He opened Manuel\u2019s downtown at 310 Congress Ave. in 1984. Adding a nostalgic touch to the downtown location, Greg incorporated the historic \u201csit-in\u201d barstools from the demolished downtown Woolworth drugstore into the d\u00e9cor. As Austin grew to the north, he opened Manuel\u2019s at Great Hills in 2000.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Koury and his wife, co-owner Jennifer McNevin, have collaborated on other restaurants including the now-closed Iguana Grill and Changos Taquerias.<\/p>\n
In 2020, Manuel\u2019s downtown closed. Despite a 2017 announcement that the Arboretum location would be replaced by a mixed-use development, it remains open at 10201 Jollyville Road.<\/p>\n
1985: El Mercado<\/p>\n
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Frozen and on the rocks margaritas from El Mercado. DEBORAH CANNON \/ AMERICAN STATESMAN<\/p>\n
Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
When Camilo Joe \u201cC.J.\u201d and Gudelia \u201cTootsie\u201d Villegas \u2014 along with their sons Anthony \u201cTony\u201d and Lawrence \u201cLarry\u201d \u2014 initially opened El Mercado at 1302 South First St. in 1985, their plans were for it to be a tortilla factory and a market for hard-to-find Mexican food products, as well as takeout meals. That is why they named it El Mercado, which means \u201cmarket\u201d in Spanish.<\/p>\n
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Gudelia\u2019s father, Antonio “Tony” Villasana, had owned Tony\u2019s Tortilla Factory.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Public demand, however, changed those plans. From the first day, customers wanted to sit down and eat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So they did, and after surviving the 1980s, the Villegas opened a second restaurant in North Austin at 7414 Burnet Road in 1991. They also acquired a distressed property in central Austin at 1702 Lavaca St. in 1994 that had been Jorge\u2019s Uptown Enchilada Bar since 1978.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to Tony Villegas, \u201cthe 1990s were a mecca,\u201d and then the building boom hit and property values and taxes skyrocketed. Within four years, his annual taxes for the South First Street location tripled from $36,000 to over $100,000, making it difficult to break even. A victim of taxes and COVID-19, the Lavaca location was sold in 2022 and will be replaced by a high-rise building.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The North El Mercado on Burnet remains open, but the South El Mercado closed in 2025 and was replaced by De Nada Tacos. Camilo died in 2007 and Gudelia in 2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Three previous stories in this series<\/p>\n
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Send tips and questions to mbarnes@statesman.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Since we introduced \u201cJim Duncan\u2019s Austin\u201d on July 6, 2025, among his most popular histories are those recalling…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":344921,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133],"class_list":["post-344920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=344920"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344920\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/344921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=344920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=344920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=344920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}