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D-FW's first Lupe Tortilla has opened

More than 35 years after the first Lupe Tortilla restaurant opened in Katy, Texas, the family-owned Tex-Mex chain headed north, to Irving.

The restaurant near 635 and North Belt Line Road — their first in Dallas-Fort Worth — opened July 1. From there, they're firing up the grills and the expansion plan, with a Lupe Tortilla expected to open in Addison in summer 2019; Allen before the end of 2019; and Fort Worth in the first quarter of 2020, says Josh Brunson, the company's director of training and corporate executive chef.

Someday, they plan to operate 12 Lupe Tortillas in North Texas.

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Update on July 8, 2019: The restaurant officially opened July 1, 2019 after an original opening date of June 10 was pushed back.

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Lupe Tortilla has restaurants planned in Irving, Addison, Allen and Fort Worth, with more on...
Lupe Tortilla has restaurants planned in Irving, Addison, Allen and Fort Worth, with more on the way.(Lawrence Jenkins / Special Contributor)

"We finally have the infrastructure to move north," Brunson says, explaining that the company has blossomed to some 1,500 employees working at the headquarters and in restaurants in San Antonio, Austin, College Station, Beaumont and Houston. The greatest concentration of restaurants is on Lupe Tortilla's home turf, Houston, where the restaurant has become known for its beef fajitas, tableside guacamole and margaritas.

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"Consistency is the key," Brunson says, "and that's what we were waiting for." Houston transplants and Texas travelers had already been hounding the company for an opening date, he says.

In one of the side rooms at the first Lupe Tortilla in North Texas, a light-up sign says...
In one of the side rooms at the first Lupe Tortilla in North Texas, a light-up sign says "hecho en Irving," which translates to "made in Irving."(Lawrence Jenkins / Special Contributor)

Initially, the restaurant in Addison was expected to open first. But due to a construction delay while crews transformed the restaurant from a Romano's Macaroni Grill into a Tex-Mex joint, Addison's opening was pushed back.

The Irving restaurant was built from the ground up in a quickly-growing part of town, next-door to new restaurants Walk-On's Bistreaux & Bar and Whiskey Cake.

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With so many companies headquartered nearby, Brunson says they hope for heavy lunchtime crowds in Irving and Addison. But breakfast is an option, too, as Lupe Tortillas open at 8 a.m. seven days a week. More than a spot for chilaquiles and huevos rancheros, Lupe Tortilla also sells pancakes, smoked salmon Benedict, omelets, and biscuits and gravy at breakfast time.

Lupe started selling breakfast at its existing locations in spring 2018, Brunson says. "There aren't a lot of places doing breakfast the right way," he says — and even fewer of those are full-service Tex-Mex restaurants.

The Irving restaurant has colorful patio chairs out front, and on nice days, managers might "open up all the windows and let the outdoors in," Brunson says. "It's like you're on vacation."

CEO and president Judson Holt, chief development officer Peter Holt and chief operating officer Nick Incrapera each graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in New York, and fellow chef Brunson says they're involved in creating and evolving the menu. But, for the most part, it's the longtime recipes that keep Texans talking.

"It's the fajitas," Brunson says.

The Grandioso at Lupe Tortilla lives up to its name: It's a $56.95 plate that feeds two to...
The Grandioso at Lupe Tortilla lives up to its name: It's a $56.95 plate that feeds two to three people. It comes out sizzling, with 1 pound of beef and chicken fajitas and six bacon-wrapped pepper shrimp. (Lawrence Jenkins / Special Contributor)

Original story published June 5, 2019 and updated June 10, 2019 and July 8, 2019.

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For more food news, follow Sarah Blaskovich on Twitter at @sblaskovich.