Chef Jose Luis Rodriguez of Mixtitos Kitchen. Photography by Sylvia Elzafon.
Friday, May 31, was set to be the end of chef and owner José Luis Rodriguez’s restaurant, Mixtitos. However, an unforeseen surge in community support has secured their future.
In April, the Advocate first reported on Mixtitos’ upcoming closure, Rodriguez said they were lucky to have at most 20 customers, barely pulling in $600 a day. The chef shared that the only way to remain open would be if there was a surge in business. Since then, a gust of new and old customers flocked to the restaurant in hopes of changing its storyline.
One of those individuals was Manuel Zaby, who Luis says is the Godfather who changed everything for them.
When Zaby visited the restaurant he immediately noticed the hospitality, service and authenticity of the food that “reminded him of Mexico.” Shortly after his experience, he began spreading the word and in one night he brought the whole block of his neighborhood to dine with Mixtitos.
What was once a restaurant with hardly any customers quickly became a full restaurant of Dallasites encouraging them to stay.
East Dallas community members rallied together through social media platforms like Instagram, NextDoor and Facebook to bring more customers to the restaurant. City officials began holding meetings and gatherings at the eatery and music performances from Randy Brooks — yes the songwriter of Grandma Got Ran Over By a Reindeer, have helped fill the space.
“[this] is not only for the people who work here or for me, it’s for the neighborhood, and the neighborhood has been so supportive [that] we want to keep going,” Rodriguez said. “…[this] feels like a real restaurant.”
The restaurant, which opened on July 28, 2022, specializes in a variety of dishes, such as soups and salads, sandwiches, burgers and tacos. The restaurant has made Yelp’s ‘Top 100 Places to Eat in Texas’ list and on May 6, Rodriguez won“best taco” in a cooking competition on KXTX-TV, both of which have helped increase their visibility in East Dallas.
After witnessing the business spike up to 50%, Rodriguez went to the landlord and told him they were going to stay, “we don’t have to have another meeting, this is your place, so you can keep it open,” the landlord said.
Today’s business looks like an answered prayer, Rodriguez who prayed each night said it was faith that kept him pushing during the business’ uncertainty.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment and I did not see it in the past. I was getting depressed and I was getting really sad and just devastated because I thought we were doing something good for people,” he shares. “But [God] was pushing us through the pain and saying, ‘Be patient I’m gonna take care of you, don’t worry.’”
He wasn’t expecting Mixtitos to stay open, but he is incredibly grateful and humble for the support from Dallas, out-of-state customers and visitors from other cities.
While Rodriguez’s childhood dream of owning a restaurant will continue to live on, the support shouldn’t stop here.
The family-owned business is run by Rodriguez, who also works a second job serving at José, his oldest daughter making desserts, his teens staying at home to watch the youngest child and his sister-in-law tossing her cap and gown to the side to help wash the dishes (she went back to work the same day she received her doctorate in education at SMU).
Rodriguez still hasn’t taken a paycheck home since the restaurant opened, but that hasn’t stopped him.
Mixtitos is still encouraging the community and people outside of Dallas to pay a visit. They are expected to remain open until the end of 2024 but are optimistic with the amount of support they’ve seen thus far.
And to his mom who made him sell tamales door-to-door to make money for the family, he knows she would be proud.
Mixtitos Kitchen is located at 2706 Samuell Blvd., the restaurant is open seven days a week.
