From a young age, Arnaldo Richards was surrounded by a family of cooks. So when he came to America with the dream of one day owning his own culinary business, he knew that no matter what, he was going to find a way to achieve his goals. He did just that with Picos, the restaurant Houstonians have come to love for its regional Mexican cuisine and amazing—dare we say perfect—margaritas.

Picos first opened in Gulfton in 1984 and moved to its current home in Upper Kirby in 2014. The restaurant’s actual 40th birthday was March 8, which the City of Houston declared as Picos Day in 2024. With another landmark anniversary, the restaurant is hosting its first-ever festival: an agave festival, of course, held on September 14 to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month.

Dubbed the H-Town Agave Festival, it starts at 1pm in Picos’s parking lot and will showcase different tequila and mezcal companies, as well as music by DJ Big Reeks, giveaways, and food such as tacos, nachos, and elote bowls. Advance tickets are $25 or $30 the day of. Attendees will be given 10 tickets that can be used at over 15 booths that will offer a tequila or mezcal tasting. Richards acknowledges not everyone will want to sip on the spirits, so the companies will also come prepared with a batch cocktail.

Richards says the festival is something he has been wanting to do for a while, but it finally felt right for this year’s anniversary, as he feels people are more educated and have a better understanding of agave spirits.

Where it all began

 Since the ripe age of 14, it was apparent that Richards was meant to be in the kitchen, but his love for cooking goes even further back to when he was a young kid. He says it was always in his bloodline: his mom and aunt both had restaurants, and even his grandmother was a cook.

“I grew up in a family of foodies—I mean, that was not the term at the time, we were just fans of food,” Richards says. “I just remember growing up with the different smells, flavors, and tastes.”

Richards has a cookbook his mom gave him that is from the early 1900s, which he still refers back to. It doesn’t have quantities, but it does have a narrative of how to make each meal. The reason for this? Richards believes it’s important when cooking to have an understanding of ingredients—he says rather than follow a recipe, he goes off of knowledge, experience, and taste.

When it became time for him to leave his hometown of Monterrey, Mexico, to attend college, he thought he would go into the agricultural side of the restaurant industry rather than hospitality. But he was persuaded against agronomy when a family friend, who at the time was part of the Mexican government, mentioned that the country was working toward expanding its tourism (keep in mind, this was 1976). Richards was encouraged to go into the hotel industry.

Eventually, after some scholarship mishaps, long work weeks, a desire for more, and a dean taking a chance on him, Richards found his way up to the Bayou City in 1978 and finished college three years later at the University of Houston’s Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership. That same year, with the help from his now-wife, Janice, and a business partner, he opened his first business: El Granero. Ultimately, he and his wife ventured off on their own, creating Picos, originally on Bellaire Boulevard in Gulfton.

“It was a no-brainer that I was going to open my restaurant—I had the entrepreneurial bug from my family,” Richards says. “But [opening] was a labor of love. It’s been a ride. In the beginning, it was a lot to get people to understand where and who we are. But thanks to word of mouth, we just grew and grew.”

Richards says he and his wife saw a need for authentic Mexican food in Houston. When he arrived in the city in 1978, he was shocked at the lack of it, noticing there was a gap in knowledge among Houstonians when it came to the country’s food—especially since people were used to Tex-Mex.

Seven regions

Picos’s unique concept highlights the seven regions that make up Mexico’s cuisine: the North, the North Pacific Coast, the Bajio, the South Pacific Coast, Central Mexico, the South, and the Gulf. The chile en nogada, for example, comes from Puebla, a state in Central Mexico. Traditionally served in late August and early September ahead of Mexican Independence Day, Picos offers this specialty year-round. Roasted poblano peppers are stuffed with pulled pork in a peanut sauce, green olives, almonds, raisins, and fruits. It’s then covered with a chilled, creamy walnut sauce and pomegranate seeds, and served with poblano-cilantro rice. Picos also has menu items like ceviche and other seafood specialties to represent the coastal regions.

While Picos’s cuisine has made the restaurant a household name, Richards notes that another menu item Houstonians have come to love is the Perfect Shaker Margarita. Just like the restaurant, his idea for the drink goes back to his days as a kid (and no, not because he was drinking them).

Growing up, his parents held parties and get-togethers, and margaritas were always at the heart of them. But, again, when he came to America and tried the country’s version of a margarita, he disliked the sweetness of the drink, and the cheapness of the tequila used. He says a good margarita that reflects Mexico correctly should be made with Cointreau, tequila, and limes—that’s it.

Through all the success, Richards says he has to credit not only his family, who have helped him ensure the restaurant remains a family-run business, but also his loyal staff, who have since become a family to him, too. He knows he wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for the people who have stuck by his side and never gave up on him.

As for the future, Richards hopes to just keep on feeding the community, and grow the agave festival to eventually become a citywide event.

“[Cooking] is a lifetime of learning—I think it’s a continued education,” Richards says. “But my mother always said, I don’t eat to live, I live to eat.”