Shortly after her husband’s death, Mama Ninfa Laurenzo broke barriers and opened a restaurant in Houston’s East End. Her restaurant The Original Ninfa’s has remained a Houston favorite for delicious Tex-Mex and margaritas. Here’s more on Mama Ninfa’s restaurant journey.
The Early Years
After Mama Ninfa Laurenzo’s husband Domenic Thomas Laurenzo died in 1969, she decided to open a small ten-table restaurant in front of her family’s floundering tortilla factory in the East End. Laurenzo could not secure a loan from the bank, so she mortgaged her home and borrowed money from a friend to open the restaurant in 1973. Mama Ninfa’s grilled skirt steak wrapped in handmade flour tortillas, better known as fajitas, would become a Tex-Mex staple in Houston.
Trials and Triumphs For Ninfa’s
Ninfa’s quickly became a popular restaurant among Houstonians. The family opened their second restaurant on Westheimer in 1976. Thirteen restaurants opened across Texas by 1980, including locations in San Antonio and Dallas. However, the restaurant took on more debt and the quality dropped because of the rapid growth. The family’s company, Riostar Corporation, filed for bankruptcy in 1996.
Remembering Mama Ninfa
Even though Ninfa was a biological mother to her five children, many Houstonians affectionately remember her as a maternal figure, too. Her son-in-law, Tony Mandola, said that many people would come into the restaurant and request time with Mama Ninfa for help with marriage problems, health issues, or trouble with their children. Mama Ninfa passed away from breast cancer in 2001, leaving behind a rich legacy for Houstonians. In her last years, she spent a lot of time at her son Rolad Laurenzo’s restaurant El Tiempo Cantina, which continues the family traditions. Legacy Restaurants took over ownership of the Original Ninfa’s in 2005. The company opened up the Uptown location in 2019.
Hungry after reading this? Here’s a round-up of Houston’s best tacos 🌮
