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Maggie Rita's

March 04, 2023

Maggie Rita's Tex-Mex Grill & Bar is a Tex-Mex restaurant in Houston. For several years, Maggie Rita's was a restaurant chain with a license co-owned by Carlos Mencia and Santiago Moreno of Suave Restaurant.[1] In January 2013, Moreno closed the last two locations they owned. Tony Shannard owns the only remaining Maggie Rita's restaurant, which is situated in Houston's JPMorgan Chase Tower.

Maggie Rita's
IndustryRestaurant
GenreTex-Mex
FoundedHouston, Texas
FoundersCarlos Mencia, Santiago Moreno, David Quintanilla
Headquarters
Houston, Texas
,
U.S.
Areas served
Houston, Texas
Key people
Tony Shannard (operator)
Websitewww.maggierita.com

History

Carlos Mencia had an interest in food, and his friends suggested that he make a business out of it. Mencia met Santiago Moreno, a restaurateur, who suggested that the two of them start a restaurant chain. Mencia partnered with Moreno,[2] who along with David Quintanilla, was one of the two principals of the Restaurant Resource Management Group, to open Maggie Rita's.[3] The first Maggie Rita's opened was located in the Galleria area of Houston. T.J. Aulds of the Galveston County Daily News characterized the opening as a "test run" and Mencia said that "We learned a lot from that experience. We tweaked a lot of things from what we learned there."[2]

Shortly after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Maggie Rita's opened in that city.[2] Around 2007 a former Houlihan's location in Houston was replaced with Maggie Rita's. Allison Wollam of the Houston Business Journal called the restaurant "a new upscale Mexican food concept."[4] In 2009 Syd Kearney of 29-95 said that Maggie Rita's was an "upscale Tex-Mex sports bar."[5] The Maggie Rita's in Galveston, Texas opened on July 29, 2010 in the Armour & Co. building in The Strand district.[6] The Galveston location was the number three Maggie Rita's.[2] Maggie Rita's had replaced a Fuddrucker's location. Laura Elder of The Galveston County Daily News said "some saw it as a strong sign of Hurricane Ike recovery and welcome investment in the island’s downtown."[7] By January 2012 the restaurant in Galveston had closed.[7]

In mid-2012, the three remaining franchised Ninfa's locations owned by Santiago Moreno, in the Kirby Drive area, the Galleria area, and the Interstate 45 Gulf Freeway area, were converted into Maggie Rita's. Katharine Shilcutt of the Houston Press rated the food at the new restaurants negatively and said that "[i]t represents a new nadir for a once-respected and beloved Houston Tex-Mex institution."[8] Shilcutt further added that the takeover caused an "uproar" in Houston and that "to many longtime Houstonians (me [⁠sic⁠] included), the deal with interloper Maggie Rita's may as well have been a pact with the devil."[9]

As of April 2013 only one Maggie Rita's restaurant remains in operation.[10]

Locations

The chain had locations in Houston, Galveston, and New Orleans.[11] The Galveston and New Orleans locations closed by 2012.[12] The restaurant's Houston locations included Travis Street/Downtown (the J.P. Morgan Chase Tower in Downtown Houston),[13][14] Galleria (Uptown Houston, near The Galleria),[15] Hobby (near Hobby Airport),[16] Heights (on Shepherd Drive, near Houston Heights),[17] and Upper Kirby.[18]

The Kirby location closed in November 2012. The Galleria location closed the following month. In January 2013, due to rising rents, the Heights location closed. The closures led to 60 employees losing their jobs. Tony Shannard operates the Maggie Rita's in Downtown under a licensing agreement.[12] As of that month, he planned to open another Downtown Maggie Rita's within 30 days, but as of January 2019 the Maggie Rita's website lists only one location.[19] The former Kirby location became the new location of the Houston-area Tex-Mex restaurant Pico's.[20]

Concept

Santiago Moreno said that the chain differs heavily from Ninfa's, with emphasis on less-filling food and margaritas. Moreno said that the customers "are old Taco Bell clients who grew up with Taco Bell as Mexican food" and that "[t]heir palates don't appreciate what we grew up with as Mexican food."[1] Moreno said that Ninfa's served a "heavy product" which a "strong" person would be able to eat on two occasions in a week, while with Maggie Rita's offers a "lighter" product that can easily be consumed on two or three occasions in a week.[1] Moreno added that "consumer decisions are made by women" and he concluded that "what makes a woman decide where to eat Mexican food [ ⁠. ⁠. ⁠. ⁠] has to do with margaritas[ ⁠; it ⁠] has nothing to do with food."[1]

Katharine Shilcutt of the Houston Press criticized Moreno's statements, arguing that by "catering to the lowest common denominator", the chain is allowing the food quality to suffer, and furthermore by "underestimating a market like Houston, which is saturated with excellent Tex-Mex restaurants, and [ ⁠which contains ⁠] a consumer base possessed of a smart, experienced palate that will only suffer through a bowl of garlic-and-tomato salsa once, never to return again", the chain's restaurants would not succeed in the Greater Houston area.[21]

At the Shepherd Drive location in Houston, patrons parking on the premises were required to use a valet service.[8]

Reception

Shilcutt characterized the menu as "a jumbled, pan-Latin menu" which includes fajitas, chips and salsa, queso flameado, arepas, chimichangas, "Ecuadorian ceviche" (similar to campechana) and "deconstructed salmon tamales."[9] The restaurant chain has several varieties of margaritas and cocktails.[9] She said that Maggie Rita's was not well received in Houston because Mencia was not a Texan or a Mexican and because it had taken over Ninfa's locations.[22] Eric Sandler of Houston Eater said that after the 2012 conversion of some Ninfa's locations in Houston, some internet users reacted negatively to the new restaurant, while one argued that the food was "better than expected."[1] Shilcutt reviewed the restaurant on Shepherd Drive in Houston and gave a very negative review of the food, arguing that it had a bad flavor and was overpriced.[8] In 2012 Shilcutt said that "Maggie Rita's served none of the old Ninfa's recipes, but served its own ham-fisted versions of Tex-Mex food that somehow cost even more than the already overpriced Ninfa's that came before."[22] She also said that "[t]he takeover of three Ninfa's locations in Houston by Maggie Rita's represents the latest and possibly saddest chapter in the Tex-Mex chain's history, and certainly the nadir of Ninfa's existence" because the chain "itself may well represent a nadir unto itself in the world of Houston Tex-Mex."[9]

Commenting on the opening of the Galveston location in 2010, Laura Elder of The Galveston County Daily News said that while she "visited only once when the restaurant still was working out the kinks" she felt "I thought the food was ok" and "I’ve had better, especially on the island, where the Tex-Mex trade is pretty competitive and some local families are very good at what they do. "[7] She added that "What sort of put me off about Maggie Rita’s was that they served the food on disposable plates" since those are often used at barbecues and picnics but not at fine restaurants.[7] Elder reasoned that "I did think the prices were extremely reasonable" and that "perhaps their plate delivery hadn't yet arrived and I was making a rash assessment."[7] Elder did not have the margaritas, and she said they "probably would have lightened up my view of the eatery."[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Sandler, Eric. "Three Ninfa's Locations Replaced by Maggie Rita's." Houston Eater. Friday July 6, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d Aulds, T.J. "Comedian Carlos Mencia opens isle restaurant." Galveston County Daily News. August 2, 2010. Retrieved on August 23, 2012.
  3. ^ Elder, Laura. "Comedian Mencia backing island eatery." Galveston County Daily News. June 1, 2010. Retrieved on August 23, 2012.
  4. ^ Wollam, Allison. "Houlihan's retreats as first comeback store closes." Houston Business Journal. Sunday September 2, 2007. Retrieved on August 23, 2012.
  5. ^ Kearney, Syd. "Snack on this : 6.3.09 2010-03-27 at the Wayback Machine." 29-95. June 23, 2009. Retrieved on October 23, 2012.
  6. ^ Wollam, Allison. "Carlos Mencia opens Maggie Rita's." Houston Business Journal. August 9, 2010. Retrieved on October 23, 2012.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Elder, Laura. "Maggie Rita's bids adios to island." Galveston County Daily News. January 16, 2012. Retrieved on August 23, 2012.
  8. ^ a b c Shilcutt, Katharine. "Maggie Rita's Takes Over Ninfa's." Houston Press. Wednesday August 15, 2012. 1. Retrieved on August 22, 2012.
  9. ^ a b c d Shilcutt, Katharine. "How the Mighty Have Fallen: Ninfa's Finds Its Nadir with Maggie Rita's." Houston Press. Wednesday August 15, 2012. Retrieved on August 22, 2012.
  10. ^ Shilcutt, Katherine. "Restaurants Behaving Badly: Maggie Rita's Calls Houston Woman "Fat" on Facebook." Houston Press. Thursday April 4, 2013. Retrieved on May 6, 2013.
  11. ^ Saldaña, Hector. "Carlos Mencia is cooking up some big ideas." San Antonio Express-News at the Houston Chronicle. Wednesday August 11, 2010. Retrieved on August 22, 2012.
  12. ^ a b Zucker, Shaina. "EXCLUSIVE: Maggie Rita's closes Galleria, Shepherd locations." Houston Business Journal. Friday January 18, 2013. Retrieved on March 20, 2013.
  13. ^ "Home." (Archive) Maggie Rita's (Downtown Houston). Retrieved on August 28, 2012. "600 Travis St Houston. TX 77002-3009"
  14. ^ "Travis Street." Maggie Rita's. Retrieved on August 28, 2012. "600 Travis St. Houston, TX 77002"
  15. ^ "Galleria." Maggie Rita's. Retrieved on August 28, 2012. "1650 Post Oak Blvd. Houston, TX 77056"
  16. ^ "Hobby." Maggie Rita's. Retrieved on August 28, 2012. "8553 Gulf Freeway Houston, TX 77017"
  17. ^ "Heights." Maggie Rita's. Retrieved on August 28, 2012. "1400 Shepherd Dr, Houston, Tx 77007"
  18. ^ "Upper Kirby." Maggie Rita's. Retrieved on August 28, 2012. "3601 Kirby Drive Houston, TX 77098"
  19. ^ "Welcome to Maggie Ritas". Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  20. ^ "An update on Pico’s move to Kirby." 29-95 at the Houston Chronicle. Wednesday June 19, 2013. Retrieved on June 24, 2013.
  21. ^ Shilcitt, Katharine. "Maggie Rita's Takes Over Ninfa's." Houston Press. Wednesday August 15, 2012. 2. Retrieved on August 22, 2012.
  22. ^ a b Shilcutt, Katharine. "Rest(aurants) in Peace: Notable Closings of 2012." Houston Press. Monday December 10, 2012. 3. Retrieved on March 27, 2013.

External links

  • Maggie Rita's Downtown Houston
  • Maggie Rita's (Archive)
  • Serrano's Tex-Mex Mesquite, the owners of Maggie Rita's
  • "Spotlight on Downtown Galveston - Profile on Maggie Rita's." Mitchell Historic Properties. April 28, 2011.

March 04, 2023
maggie, rita, grill, restaurant, houston, several, years, restaurant, chain, with, license, owned, carlos, mencia, santiago, moreno, suave, restaurant, january, 2013, moreno, closed, last, locations, they, owned, tony, shannard, owns, only, remaining, restaura. Maggie Rita s Tex Mex Grill amp Bar is a Tex Mex restaurant in Houston For several years Maggie Rita s was a restaurant chain with a license co owned by Carlos Mencia and Santiago Moreno of Suave Restaurant 1 In January 2013 Moreno closed the last two locations they owned Tony Shannard owns the only remaining Maggie Rita s restaurant which is situated in Houston s JPMorgan Chase Tower Maggie Rita sIndustryRestaurantGenreTex MexFoundedHouston TexasFoundersCarlos Mencia Santiago Moreno David QuintanillaHeadquartersHouston Texas U S Areas servedHouston TexasKey peopleTony Shannard operator Websitewww wbr maggierita wbr com Contents 1 History 2 Locations 3 Concept 4 Reception 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksHistory EditCarlos Mencia had an interest in food and his friends suggested that he make a business out of it Mencia met Santiago Moreno a restaurateur who suggested that the two of them start a restaurant chain Mencia partnered with Moreno 2 who along with David Quintanilla was one of the two principals of the Restaurant Resource Management Group to open Maggie Rita s 3 The first Maggie Rita s opened was located in the Galleria area of Houston T J Aulds of the Galveston County Daily News characterized the opening as a test run and Mencia said that We learned a lot from that experience We tweaked a lot of things from what we learned there 2 Shortly after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans Maggie Rita s opened in that city 2 Around 2007 a former Houlihan s location in Houston was replaced with Maggie Rita s Allison Wollam of the Houston Business Journal called the restaurant a new upscale Mexican food concept 4 In 2009 Syd Kearney of 29 95 said that Maggie Rita s was an upscale Tex Mex sports bar 5 The Maggie Rita s in Galveston Texas opened on July 29 2010 in the Armour amp Co building in The Strand district 6 The Galveston location was the number three Maggie Rita s 2 Maggie Rita s had replaced a Fuddrucker s location Laura Elder of The Galveston County Daily News said some saw it as a strong sign of Hurricane Ike recovery and welcome investment in the island s downtown 7 By January 2012 the restaurant in Galveston had closed 7 In mid 2012 the three remaining franchised Ninfa s locations owned by Santiago Moreno in the Kirby Drive area the Galleria area and the Interstate 45 Gulf Freeway area were converted into Maggie Rita s Katharine Shilcutt of the Houston Press rated the food at the new restaurants negatively and said that i t represents a new nadir for a once respected and beloved Houston Tex Mex institution 8 Shilcutt further added that the takeover caused an uproar in Houston and that to many longtime Houstonians me sic included the deal with interloper Maggie Rita s may as well have been a pact with the devil 9 As of April 2013 only one Maggie Rita s restaurant remains in operation 10 Locations EditThe chain had locations in Houston Galveston and New Orleans 11 The Galveston and New Orleans locations closed by 2012 12 The restaurant s Houston locations included Travis Street Downtown the J P Morgan Chase Tower in Downtown Houston 13 14 Galleria Uptown Houston near The Galleria 15 Hobby near Hobby Airport 16 Heights on Shepherd Drive near Houston Heights 17 and Upper Kirby 18 The Kirby location closed in November 2012 The Galleria location closed the following month In January 2013 due to rising rents the Heights location closed The closures led to 60 employees losing their jobs Tony Shannard operates the Maggie Rita s in Downtown under a licensing agreement 12 As of that month he planned to open another Downtown Maggie Rita s within 30 days but as of January 2019 the Maggie Rita s website lists only one location 19 The former Kirby location became the new location of the Houston area Tex Mex restaurant Pico s 20 Concept EditSantiago Moreno said that the chain differs heavily from Ninfa s with emphasis on less filling food and margaritas Moreno said that the customers are old Taco Bell clients who grew up with Taco Bell as Mexican food and that t heir palates don t appreciate what we grew up with as Mexican food 1 Moreno said that Ninfa s served a heavy product which a strong person would be able to eat on two occasions in a week while with Maggie Rita s offers a lighter product that can easily be consumed on two or three occasions in a week 1 Moreno added that consumer decisions are made by women and he concluded that what makes a woman decide where to eat Mexican food has to do with margaritas it has nothing to do with food 1 Katharine Shilcutt of the Houston Press criticized Moreno s statements arguing that by catering to the lowest common denominator the chain is allowing the food quality to suffer and furthermore by underestimating a market like Houston which is saturated with excellent Tex Mex restaurants and which contains a consumer base possessed of a smart experienced palate that will only suffer through a bowl of garlic and tomato salsa once never to return again the chain s restaurants would not succeed in the Greater Houston area 21 At the Shepherd Drive location in Houston patrons parking on the premises were required to use a valet service 8 Reception EditShilcutt characterized the menu as a jumbled pan Latin menu which includes fajitas chips and salsa queso flameado arepas chimichangas Ecuadorian ceviche similar to campechana and deconstructed salmon tamales 9 The restaurant chain has several varieties of margaritas and cocktails 9 She said that Maggie Rita s was not well received in Houston because Mencia was not a Texan or a Mexican and because it had taken over Ninfa s locations 22 Eric Sandler of Houston Eater said that after the 2012 conversion of some Ninfa s locations in Houston some internet users reacted negatively to the new restaurant while one argued that the food was better than expected 1 Shilcutt reviewed the restaurant on Shepherd Drive in Houston and gave a very negative review of the food arguing that it had a bad flavor and was overpriced 8 In 2012 Shilcutt said that Maggie Rita s served none of the old Ninfa s recipes but served its own ham fisted versions of Tex Mex food that somehow cost even more than the already overpriced Ninfa s that came before 22 She also said that t he takeover of three Ninfa s locations in Houston by Maggie Rita s represents the latest and possibly saddest chapter in the Tex Mex chain s history and certainly the nadir of Ninfa s existence because the chain itself may well represent a nadir unto itself in the world of Houston Tex Mex 9 Commenting on the opening of the Galveston location in 2010 Laura Elder of The Galveston County Daily News said that while she visited only once when the restaurant still was working out the kinks she felt I thought the food was ok and I ve had better especially on the island where the Tex Mex trade is pretty competitive and some local families are very good at what they do 7 She added that What sort of put me off about Maggie Rita s was that they served the food on disposable plates since those are often used at barbecues and picnics but not at fine restaurants 7 Elder reasoned that I did think the prices were extremely reasonable and that perhaps their plate delivery hadn t yet arrived and I was making a rash assessment 7 Elder did not have the margaritas and she said they probably would have lightened up my view of the eatery 7 See also Edit Texas portal Food portalList of Tex Mex restaurants Tex Mex cuisine in HoustonReferences Edit a b c d e Sandler Eric Three Ninfa s Locations Replaced by Maggie Rita s Houston Eater Friday July 6 2012 a b c d Aulds T J Comedian Carlos Mencia opens isle restaurant Galveston County Daily News August 2 2010 Retrieved on August 23 2012 Elder Laura Comedian Mencia backing island eatery Galveston County Daily News June 1 2010 Retrieved on August 23 2012 Wollam Allison Houlihan s retreats as first comeback store closes Houston Business Journal Sunday September 2 2007 Retrieved on August 23 2012 Kearney Syd Snack on this 6 3 09 Archived 2010 03 27 at the Wayback Machine 29 95 June 23 2009 Retrieved on October 23 2012 Wollam Allison Carlos Mencia opens Maggie Rita s Houston Business Journal August 9 2010 Retrieved on October 23 2012 a b c d e f Elder Laura Maggie Rita s bids adios to island Galveston County Daily News January 16 2012 Retrieved on August 23 2012 a b c Shilcutt Katharine Maggie Rita s Takes Over Ninfa s Houston Press Wednesday August 15 2012 1 Retrieved on August 22 2012 a b c d Shilcutt Katharine How the Mighty Have Fallen Ninfa s Finds Its Nadir with Maggie Rita s Houston Press Wednesday August 15 2012 Retrieved on August 22 2012 Shilcutt Katherine Restaurants Behaving Badly Maggie Rita s Calls Houston Woman Fat on Facebook Houston Press Thursday April 4 2013 Retrieved on May 6 2013 Saldana Hector Carlos Mencia is cooking up some big ideas San Antonio Express News at the Houston Chronicle Wednesday August 11 2010 Retrieved on August 22 2012 a b Zucker Shaina EXCLUSIVE Maggie Rita s closes Galleria Shepherd locations Houston Business Journal Friday January 18 2013 Retrieved on March 20 2013 Home Archive Maggie Rita s Downtown Houston Retrieved on August 28 2012 600 Travis St Houston TX 77002 3009 Travis Street Maggie Rita s Retrieved on August 28 2012 600 Travis St Houston TX 77002 Galleria Maggie Rita s Retrieved on August 28 2012 1650 Post Oak Blvd Houston TX 77056 Hobby Maggie Rita s Retrieved on August 28 2012 8553 Gulf Freeway Houston TX 77017 Heights Maggie Rita s Retrieved on August 28 2012 1400 Shepherd Dr Houston Tx 77007 Upper Kirby Maggie Rita s Retrieved on August 28 2012 3601 Kirby Drive Houston TX 77098 Welcome to Maggie Ritas Retrieved January 18 2019 An update on Pico s move to Kirby 29 95 at the Houston Chronicle Wednesday June 19 2013 Retrieved on June 24 2013 Shilcitt Katharine Maggie Rita s Takes Over Ninfa s Houston Press Wednesday August 15 2012 2 Retrieved on August 22 2012 a b Shilcutt Katharine Rest aurants in Peace Notable Closings of 2012 Houston Press Monday December 10 2012 3 Retrieved on March 27 2013 External links EditMaggie Rita s Downtown Houston Maggie Rita s Archive Serrano s Tex Mex Mesquite the owners of Maggie Rita s Spotlight on Downtown Galveston Profile on Maggie Rita s Mitchell Historic Properties April 28 2011 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Maggie Rita 27s amp oldid 1111298409, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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