The Original Ninfa's restaurant on Navigation Boulevard in Houston

The Original Ninfa’s on Navigation and the tacos al carbon that went national

ByDana Kowalczyk

Photo: JaseMan, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Maria Ninfa Rodriguez Laurenzo was born in Harlingen in 1924 and moved to Houston with her husband, Domenic. They ran a tortilla and pizza dough factory on Navigation Boulevard in the East End. After her husband died in 1969, she was left with five children and a struggling business.

In 1973, she opened a small restaurant in the front of the factory, with about ten tables. Among the dishes were tacos al carbon, grilled skirt steak served in flour tortillas, a style that helped popularize what became known as fajitas.

Growth and trouble

The restaurant was a hit, and Mama Ninfa, as she was known, expanded rapidly. Ninfa’s grew into a chain of dozens of restaurants in Texas and other states by the 1980s. Rapid growth and the oil bust brought financial trouble, and the company filed for bankruptcy in 1987. It was sold, and Laurenzo’s family lost control.

The revival

The original location on Navigation continued under new owners. Around 2010, Legacy Restaurants took over the location and brought in chef Alex Padilla, who refreshed the menu and brought new attention to the restaurant.

The East End

The Original Ninfa’s helped bring diners to the East End, a historic Mexican American neighborhood. The area has since seen new restaurants and housing, and debates about gentrification.

Laurenzo died in 2001. Her restaurant remains one of Houston’s most famous, and her role in popularizing fajitas is a big part of Tex-Mex history.

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