May is one of those months that has a bit more flavor to it. Call it Muy Caliente! Americans of Mexican decent everywhere proudly stick out their chest with pride in celebration of culture and heritage for Cinco de Mayo. Originally celebrated as the day that the Mexican Army overtook French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, Cinco de Mayo is now a much more spirited celebration in the United States.

No Houstonian could be prouder of their Mexican culture than Chef Domenic Laurenzo. He is the first grandchild of the late “Mama” Ninfa Laurenzo. The only way one couldn’t know who Mama Ninfa was is that they have been living under a rock for the past 60 years. Her family has been synonymous with amazing Tex-Mex food in the Houston area for decades.

It all started with a little tortilla factory in the East End of Houston. Mama Ninfa and her husband John opened the Rio Grande Tortilla Factory on Navigation in 1948 selling tortillas, tamales and pizzas to local grocery store chains. That factory birth a larger factory not too far from the first also on Navigation. Not too long after the second factory opened John would die of an aneurysm in 1969.

The death of John was devastating to Mama Ninfa. She had lost the love of her life and was now alone to raise five children. How would she make ends meet? She relied on what she knew best, cooking. After being urged by many in her neighborhood who knew how great her cooking was, Mama Ninfa decided to open a restaurant. She took part of her tortilla factory and turned it into a five table restaurant called Mama Ninfa’s, of course, in 1973. Tacos were really the only thing on the menu. Mama Ninfa was famous in the neighborhood for her Tacos al Carbon.

People craved this dish since the meat used was not extremely popular at the time because no one really knew how to best cook it, no one besides Mama Ninfa that is. Mama Ninfa used what we now know as fajita meat to make popular tacos. Fajita meats comes from the diaphragm of the cow. In those days, people threw it out with the trash. However, Mama Ninfa knew better. Using the outskirt of the meat, which is high quality meat, Mama Ninfa would prep the meat by cutting it sideways across the grain, grill it and serve it.

Although her tacos were popular, they weren’t popular enough as the business struggled for its survival in the early years. Then magic struck in the eighties and Mama Ninfa’s started making a buzz in Houston. So much so that Mama Ninfa’s had a chain of locations scattered throughout the city and the original Mama Ninfa became like a Houston landmark. Customers kept coming back because Mama Ninfa’s was known for great Tex-Mex that always had fresh ingredients.

With great popularity comes an even greater stress that proved to be just too much for the Mama Ninfa family. In 1996, they would lose everything when they over extended their credit and went bankrupt. Creditors brought them out and Mama Ninfa signed a non-compete agreement for creditors to use her likeness and recipes and everything else in exchange for royalty checks she would receive. This was the second tragic blow to the family. It literally tore them apart after being so close knit.

When everything is gone, how do you get back? Again, rely on what you know. And for the Mama Ninfa family that meant food. The second generation would jump back into the business with feet firmly planted to open a burger joint called Dom Burger Memorial Day 1997. More than just a burger joint, Dom Burger also sold Greek salads, milkshakes and more. The establishment showed great signs of success but the family knew it would not be enough to sustain the entire family. Now wiser about the industry with lessons learned from their mistakes, the family opened another restaurant a year later built on the inspiration of Mama Ninfa called El Tiempo Cantina serving the greatest of Tex-Mex.

Coming along is the third generation of the Laurenzo family, Chef Domenic’s generation, and they wanted in on the food biz too. Laurenzo’s Bar and Grill was opened in Midtown Houston in 2017 with Chef Domenic as the man in charge. This restaurant is a reflection of both of his grandparents and showcases another side of the family’s culinary genesis. The Mexican heritage of the Laurenzo family is widely known but the Italian side not so much. Laurenzo’s Bar and Grill marries the Mexican heritage of Mama Ninfa and the Italian heritage of grandfather John. According to Chef Domenic, it was always a dream of his grandfather, who was an Italian immigrant, to open an Italian restaurant. He believes by opening this eatery he is honoring that long lost dream.

Now “like a phoenix rising from the ashes” as Chef Domenic puts it, the Laurenzo family is once again thriving in the food industry. Standing strong on the principles of exhibiting great customer service and giving customers the best with fresh ingredients as their signature.

The Laurenzo family is a great source of pride for this Cinco de Mayo. Like Mexico was an unlikely victor against the French in 1862, the family was up against tremendous odds to find success again after losing everything. These lessons of never giving and living in your purpose are invaluable to not just Mexican Americans but to all in the pursuit of their own dreams.

This Cinco de Mayo lift a glass in celebration of Mexican culture and heritage but also to endurance and strength. Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone!