Familiar faces, the scent of Tex-Mex, and the sounds of laughter fill the rooms of Molina’s Cantina. If a Houstonian visited in the 1980s, they might’ve dined next to celebrities or prominent local families, including President George H. W. Bush, whose family was such big fans that they had tamales hand-delivered to the White House in 1989.

Today, regulars like 83-year-old Burch Downman, who has been visiting since he was in a baby carrier, fill the restaurant. Some days, he can be found listening to an audiobook while enjoying warm tortillas with beans and hot sauce.

“He’s about the oldest customer that I remember,” says Raul Molina Jr., now 96 and a former owner of Molina’s Cantina.

For more than 80 years, Molina’s Cantina has been a cornerstone in the Houston restaurant scene. Name changes, economic downturns, and even a global pandemic have only strengthened its place in the city’s culinary history, and the family has no plans of slowing down anytime soon.

It all started in 1929 when Raul Jr.’s father, Raul Molina Sr., moved from Laredo to Houston in search of a better life. He landed a job as a dishwasher and busboy at the former Old Monterrey restaurant. In 1941, he took over as owner, teaming up with his wife, Mary, and brother-in-law, Jose Sarabia, to purchase the restaurant and move into the upstairs apartment to keep costs low. Immediately, it was a full family affair.

While the kitchen served up classic chili con carne and Molina’s signature chili cheese enchiladas topped with a fried egg, Raul Sr. waited tables, Mary charmed the customers, and Raul Jr. and his brother, George, washed the dishes. The work paid off, Raul Jr. remembers. That same year, the word “Tex-Mex” coincidentally showed up for the first time in print in Time magazine. Little did the Molinas know that by dishing out bean tostadas and chili-covered tamales, they were helping define a cuisine.

The family kept building at that restaurant for two years, but in 1943, Mary and Raul Molina sold their shares and relocated to South Main Street, purchasing a new spot called the Mexico City Restaurant. Without enough funds to change the signage, they kept the name but still served their beloved dishes. While Raul Jr. and his brother were away fighting in the Korean War, Raul Sr. and Mary ran the restaurant. When they returned, Raul Jr. recalls an extra sweet homecoming: His father made him and his brother partners in the business.

Around this time, the Molina family helped shift the narrative around Tex-Mex. What was once a cold-weather indulgence became a year-round cuisine, Raul Jr. says. In 1944, they were among the first families in Houston to install air-conditioning in a restaurant, which drew diners in, even in the summer heat.

Finally, after about a decade as “Mexico City Restaurant,” the Molinas saved enough money to put a personal stamp on their establishment. They changed the sign to read “Molina’s Mexico City Restaurant” in 1952 (it wasn't until the 1980s that the family shortened it to Molina's Cantina).  

Over the next 10 years, Molina’s added new dishes that can still be found at its restaurants today. There’s the Berlys Burrito, a plate born out of a request from longtime customer Jim Berly. The burrito is loaded with beef or chicken fajita and covered with chili con carne. Others around the Molinas have inspired dishes, too: The delectable C.W. Special (taco al carbon, cheese enchilada with all the fix-ins) is named after a family friend, Chris Wilson; and the Williams Special, a hefty portion of tender carne asada with grilled onions and two enchiladas topped with a special sauce and Chihuahua cheese, is the namesake of a cook who worked with the Molinas for over 40 years.

By the mid-1970s, Molina’s made history again as one of the first establishments in Houston to sell frozen margaritas. “It did fantastic,” Raul Jr. says. Not long after, he fully took over the family business, and luckily for him, all three of his sons—Raul III, Roberto, and Ricardo—soon dedicated their lives to it, too. 

Now, his sons co-own and maintain day-to-day operations at all three locations. For Ricardo, now Molina's president who oversees most of its operations, running a business that has been passed down a generation is a no-brainer. “It’s gotta stay in the family,” Ricardo says, and it has.

To this day, Raul Jr. still stops by for his usual: cheese enchiladas with an egg on top to go. “I never really had time for breakfast,” Raul Jr. says. “I was always on the run [with the restaurants]. That [meal] sort of stayed with me. It’s hard to break old habits.”

Still, the restaurant hasn’t resisted change. “You have to, in a sense, go with the flow,” Ricardo says. “If you want to survive, you gotta change with [the times].”

In recent years, the Molinas have tapped into more modern food trends. In 2021, the restaurant introduced to-go alcohol after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and just this past month, quesabirria tacos, street al pastor tacos, and a miniature margarita flight made their debut on the restaurant's menu.

Such innovative thinking has earned Molina's recognition from Houston and beyond. In 2011, Houston Mayor Annise Parker declared July 1 as “Molina’s Cantina Day,” and in early 2025, the Texas Historical Commission honored Molina’s with the Texas Treasure Business Award, commemorating its legacy and community impact.

For the Molinas, though, the true reward is the people. Ricardo says the community’s love and support are unlike anything else. Maybe that’s why, he says, Molina’s has been able to withstand the test of time.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include the correct year that the Molinas changed its restaurant name to Molina’s Cantina.