So far, we\u2019ve published more than 30 of retired city planner Jim Duncan\u2019s short Tex-Mex histories. Missed your Austin favorite? Let me know at mbarnes@statesman.com. We plan a big roundup for September. \u2014 Michael Barnes<\/p>\n
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1963:\u00a0 Stube Steakhouse \/ El Alma\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The upstairs patio at El Alma.<\/p>\n
Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
Despite being across the street from some of Austin\u2019s major activity centers and on one of its high-traffic streets, the corner of Barton Springs Road and Dawson Street was a revolving door of restaurant concepts from 1963 to 2010.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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A Statesman food critic said it was like the \u201clocation had been cursed.\u201d<\/a> \u00a0Most of the tenants during that time lasted less than two years each. They included the Bier Stube Steakhouse, Bobby and Curly\u2019s Family Inn, Flying Circus, Malamutes Saloon, Martin\u2019s Place, Gypsy Italian Bistro and Castleberry\u2019s Sammiches.\u00a0<\/p>\n This period also included a two-year residency by an architect, Marley Porter. Architecturally, the building mimics Mexican design styles. A stone staircase built into the rock formation leads to a rooftop terrace. While only on the second floor, the terrace offers impressive views of the Austin skyline.\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2011, Carlos Mario Rivero opened El Chile, a walk-up taco stand, which he later transitioned into a full-service Mexican restaurant. He branded it El Alma after his chef, Alma Alcocer-Thomas, who had previously worked at Fonda San Miguel. In addition to tacos and enchiladas, El Alma serves a full menu of Mexican creations, such as duck relleno, chuleta del Puerco, pasilla mole and adobo shrimp quesadillas. The new concept worked. It just needed the right menu mix.<\/p>\n 1977: Trudy’s Tex-Mex<\/p>\n Trudy’s loaded nachos were popular during the Austin City Limits Music Festival.\u00a0<\/p>\n Austin 360<\/p>\n Gary Wayne Truesdell, an Austin motorcycle policeman, opened the first Trudy\u2019s Cafe in 1977 just north of the University of Texas at 2900 Guadalupe St.\u00a0He claimed that it was the first gringo restaurant in Austin to serve migas.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n In 1980, Truesdell quit the police force and moved Trudy\u2019s around the corner into a converted Craftsman bungalow at 409 W. 30th St.\u00a0In 1981, he married Cheryl Diane Finley, a Trudy\u2019s waitress.\u00a0<\/p>\n During the early 1980s, business was good, and Trudy\u2019s rapidly expanded, opening cafe\u0301s in 1984 at 1000 South Lamar Blvd., and in 1986 in Oak Hill at 6281 U.S. 290.\u00a0<\/p>\n After Gary and Cheryl divorced in 1986 and split ownership of Trudy\u2019s, a fourth cafe\u0301 opened in 1987 in North Austin at 8820 Burnet Road, a fifth in 2008 at Interstate 35 and Little Texas Lane and a sixth in 2011 at 13059 Four Stars Blvd.\u00a0<\/p>\n With rapid growth, however, the chain also encountered problems, including a fire, a controversial unpermitted deck, a lawsuit and the COVID-19 pandemic.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n 1983: Dos Hermanos \/ Haba\u00f1ero Cafe<\/p>\n The Habanero Cafe and its owner Arturo Ibarra.<\/p>\n Ricardo B. Brazziell\/American-Statesman<\/p>\n After living the migrant life and annually caravaning from South Texas to Oregon chasing crops, the Ibarra family moved to Austin in 1983, where two brothers, Miguel and Efraim, opened a cafe\u0301-bakery at 2730 East Cesar Chavez St. They named it Dos Hermanos Tortilla Factory and Restaurant.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The following year, they opened a second restaurant at 501 West Oltorf St. When the brothers retired in 1998, Miguel\u2019s son, Arturo, took over the Oltorf location and renamed it Haba\u00f1ero Cafe.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Chavez location was closed by fire in 2004. Statesman dining critic Matthew Odam described the Haba\u00f1ero as “the kind of restaurant that has the vibe of your aunt or grandfather\u2019s dining room, with extended family always coming and going, workers moving with proficiency while maintaining warmth.”\u00a0In 2024,\u00a0 Odam inducted Haba\u00f1ero into the Statesman Restaurant Hall of Fame<\/a>.<\/p>\n Arturo Ibarra\u2019s advice to the budding entrepreneur: \u201cThe first five years were really hard. Trying to run a business is way different than just running a kitchen and buying supplies. I\u2019ve learned a lot. There have been ups and downs, but you can make a really good living.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n 1985: Don Dario’s Cantina<\/p>\n Ray Vera, left, and Frank Wilm lunch on classic Tex-Mex at Dario’s on Austin’s East Side in 1998.<\/p>\n Ted Albracht\/American-Statesman File<\/p>\n Born in Bejucos, southwest of Mexico City, Dario Perez Gonzales immigrated to Austin with his parents, Esquivel and Trinidad Gonzales. After learning the restaurant ropes working for El Matador in Round Rock, he opened his own restaurant in 1985 at 1800 East Sixth St. in East Austin. He branded it Dario\u2019s.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The building had previously been home to Taco Village. Promoting them as the \u201cCadillac of Mexican breakfasts,\u201d \u00a0Gonzales\u00a0made morning migas his specialty menu item. \u00a0A Statesman food critic described Dario\u2019s as\u00a0\u201cabout as plain as a pinto bean. A few electric signs, spangled sombreros and velvet paintings on the walls were the only frills.\u201d<\/p>\n As East Austin continued to gentrify and property taxes started to soar, \u00a0Gonzales opened a second restaurant, Don Dario’s Cantina, in 2010 at 8801 South I-35 across from Southpark Meadows in South Austin. Four years later, he closed the East Austin location to focus on South Austin.<\/p>\n Dario’s has become watch party central for various sports events, such as Spurs NBA and World Cup games, and special occasions such as Father’s Day and Mother’s Day. Today, the former East Austin location is home to\u00a0Suerte, an award-winning upscale restaurant<\/a> specializing in interior Mexican cuisine. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Some previous stories in this Tex-Mex series<\/p>\n Las Manitas, El Gallo and more: Austin Tex-Mex history<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Austin Tex-Mex history: Texas Chili Parlor, La Palapa, Fiesta Tortilla Factory<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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