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Foodies & Friends: Molina's Cantina
Ricardo Molina continues his family’s restaurant legacy and shares with Katie Stone some iconic menu items and new flavors.
HOUSTON - What started with Raul and Mary Molina 84 years ago, has become more than just a restaurant. Molina’s Cantina is woven into the very fabric of Houston.
Katie Stone visits with Ricardo Molina at the Westheimer location and learns about the family legacy as well as the story behind many classic items on the menu.
The backstory:
In 1941, Raul and Mary Molina purchased the restaurant where Raul had been employed for 10 years, The Old Monterrey Mexican Cafe, located at 1911 West Gray. Mary cooked. Raul waited tables. Sons Raul Jr. and George washed dishes. The family lived above the restaurant in one room. Two years later, the couple bought the Mexico City Restaurant at 3916 South Main.
In 1952, the restaurant was renamed Molina’s Mexico City Restaurant, and later to Molina’s Restaurant & Cantina.
Throughout the decades, father and sons opened and relocated restaurants at various locations in Houston to take advantage of Houston’s population growth and changing demographics. In 1977, Raul Jr. acquired full interest in the business, and today his three sons – Raul III, Ricardo and Roberto co-own and maintain day-to-day operation of the restaurants.
Some of the original recipes remain on the menu. Ricardo explains that customers just won’t let them go away. And there are some menu items named for the customers who helped create them.
There was so much to talk about between the traditions and the food at Molina’s that we added an extra serving! More food more history.
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Foodies & Friends Extra Serving: Molina's Cantina
There was so much to talk about between the traditions and the food at Molina’s that we added an extra serving!
Visiting Molina's Cantina
There are currently three locations : 7901 Westheimer, 3801 Bellaire, and 6300 FM1463 in Fulshear. All three restaurants are open Sunday – Thursday 11a.m. -9 p.m. and Friday-Saturday 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
Happy Hour from 2 p.m. - 7 p.m. Monday- Friday.
Follow them on social @molinascantina
More Foodies & Friends
Dig deeper:
Produced by the Cleverley Stone Foundation, Foodies and Friends streams live on FOX LOCAL Wednesdays at 11:30 a.m. and repeats on Saturday mornings at 11 a.m.
Watch older episodes of Foodies & Friends here
The Cleverley Stone Foundation was created by Cleverley’s daughter, Katie Stone, to continue her mother’s mission and legacy of supporting Houston Restaurant Weeks benefiting the Houston Food Bank, which takes place August 1 through Labor Day each year.
Together, Houstonians and Houston restaurant owners have raised more than $18 million over the past 20 years to support the Houston Food Bank and the hunger needs of our community.
Houston Restaurant Weeks and its sister event Eat Drink HTX are the largest annual fundraiser for the nation’s largest food bank. The Houston Food Bank services an 18-county area in Southeast Texas.
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