The Original’s new drive-thru is rising in west Fort Worth. What will it serve?
Work continues on a drive-through food stand that will bring a small version of the Original Mexican Eats Cafe back to Camp Bowie Boulevard.
Owner Robert Self has not talked about the new stand and patio on the restaurant’s old parking lot at 4733 Camp Bowie Blvd.
But the Original recently applied for a liquor license there. The old sign has been lighted again as the tiny shop takes shape.
The Original, now 96 years old and one of Texas’ oldest Tex-Mex restaurants, is now at 1400 N. Main St.
It served tacos, tamales and enchiladas with Texas chili con carne at 4713 Camp Bowie Boulevard for 93 years until 2023, but lost a long and bitter court dispute over that space, now retail shops.
Self moved the Original to a North Main Street corner into the former space that held another Tex-Mex favorite, El Rancho Grande.
But the Original kept its old parking lot, which is just big enough for a drive-thru stand and picnic tables.
The stand is listed in city records at 743 square feet. According to workers at the North Main Street restaurant, the new Camp Bowie Boulevard kiosk will sell carryout dinners, enchiladas and maybe more menu items, along with drinks.
The Original won “best queso” in a recent Star-Telegram readers’ poll. It is praised by online commenters for its traditional cheese enchiladas, puffy tacos and thin, light tortilla chips that are a holdover from El Rancho Grande.
The restaurant is best known for its “Roosevelt Special” combination dinner, named for former Fort Worth resident Elliott Roosevelt. He and his wife, Ruth Googins Roosevelt, lived on a ranch near Benbrook in the 1930s and often hosted his parents, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and first lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
The Original on North Main Street is open for lunch and dinner daily except Mondays; 817-761-1890, originalmexcafe.com.
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