Fiesta Restaurant in Fort Worth is open again. Here’s why the Barrigas took a break
The Barriga family was afraid customers had forgotten.
But they didn’t. Now, Fiesta Mexican Restaurant is open and busy again.
Darkened first to protect older family members during a pandemic, then during a child’s bone-marrow transplant and recovery, Fiesta is open again and resuming its 44-year tradition of Tex-Mex and interior Mexico cooking.
When Fiesta opened in 1978 in an old house at 3233 Hemphill, frozen margaritas were still new.
Joe Barriga leads Fiesta now, back at work after time off to care for a daughter, Madeline, through a rare blood disorder and transplant.
“She needed us 24/7 and we couldn’t imagine running this place too,” he said.
Fiesta reopened last week after serving intermittently most of the last two years.
“I was afraid people would forget about us,” he said.
“But they didn’t. We’ve had great opening weeks.”
When Fiesta opened, the menu featured combination dinners and enchiladas in chili con carne. (Fajitas weren’t common here until 1982.)
Soon, Fiesta was ranked among the Star-Telegram’s “Best Nachos in Tarrant County,” and readers came for Anita Barriga’s housemade fresh flour tortillas.
Fiesta still serves the same tortillas from an old-fashioned machine in the entryway, Joe Barriga said.
Now, the menu mixes old-time Tex-Mex with interior Mexico dishes for neighborhood customers.
There’s still a Wednesday enchilada special with chili con carne for $6.49.
But the top sellers now might be the guisados, or chicken in mole sauce or the molcajete of sizzling meats.
“We’ve transitioned for the neighborhood,” he said.
“We have everything we’ve always had. But we also have more traditional Mexican recipes.”
One of Fiesta’s busiest days is Sunday, when the chilaquiles and breakfasts rank alongside Fort Worth favorites such as Esperanza’s.
Fiesta opens at 9 a.m. Sundays for breakfast and at 10 a.m. for lunch all week, earlier than most restaurants.
“We open at 10 because that’s when a lot of working people want lunch,” Barriga said.
“It surprises me how many people eat lunch at 10:30. But we get a lot of workmen and city crews, and they’ve been out on the job all morning.”
That’s also convenient for Interstate 35W travelers or crowds on the way to early TCU football games.
Fiesta is 1 mile west of the freeway south of West Berry Street, and draws faithful customers from as far as Burleson.
“A lot of our customers have moved to the suburbs but they still come to see us,” he said.
They called and emailed asking if and when Fiesta would return. The family kept everyone’s health secret.
“I got bombarded with emails,” Barriga said.
“So many people missed us.”
Fiesta is open for lunch daily except Mondays, and for dinner Fridays and Saturdays; 817-923-6941, facebook.com/FiestaMexicanRestaurantTX.
