Our Story
The story begins with an ice cream shop on the corner of Arapaho and Coit in Dallas, TX. This ice cream shop was a local favorite and had been open for some time. Jose had always made small talk with the owners over the years. One day on the way home from work Jose decided he would walk over and grab an ice cream before heading home. He noticed when trying to open the door that it was locked; the owner, seeing him through the door, came outside to explain to Jose that she and her husband were planning to retire and were closing the business. She off-handedly told him he should buy the place. Jose explained that although he appreciated the opportunity, he didn’t have the means to be able to do something like this at that point in his life.
The owners of the ice cream shop decided that they wanted to invest in Jose and provide him and an opportunity of a lifetime. They wanted to help him convert this small little ice cream shop into a restaurant of his very own. From this day forward, Jose’s life would never be the same. Mexi-Go Restaurant opened it’s doors on November 15th, 1990 – It was a humble beginning 3 table top layout and upon some smart reconfigurations of the space, Jose was able to turn a 7 table top at his new restaurant’s launch.
As things rarely go according to plan – upon opening the restaurant’s doors – Jose was presented with many challenges — one of which was getting people in the door. Jose was determined to make this new opportunity a success. One day when business was a little slow, Jose took all the money he had in his pocket and went to the nearest office store to print copies of his one page menu – he hit the streets and began passing them out to nearby businesses and pedestrians. People began to take note of his delicious food and timely service – the business literally exploded with positive reviews from his new customer base.
Always putting his customers first, Jose knew he had to expand and improve with the momentum he had backing him. Mexi-Go was not glamorous, in fact, it opened as more or less a to-go place with a few tables for those who were waiting – the dine-in experience was food being served on paper plates and plasticware. Working with what he had and utilizing business connections he had made over the years, Jose was able to acquire assistance from another restaurant owner and was able to purchase new plates and silverware for his dine-in guests, thus improving the overall image of his restaurant dine-in experience.
Originally the concept was to be a Taqueria Style / To-Go Concept – hence the name, “Mexi-Go” – but the demand for his concept of good quality food and exceptional service drove the new restauranteur into opening several full service full bar dining concept over the next three decades!
Restaurant Timeline
