Architecture in Fort Worth
The Original Mexican Restaurant, an over-92-year-old Fort Worth institution, could be in jeopardy pending a recent state district court’s decision in a lease dispute over the actual building the restaurant resides in.
The Original still has signs of life at its iconic location at 4713 Camp Bowie Blvd. But its future could be in question, according to a court document released last week.
The document states that there has been a dispute between property owner Joe Frank Muzquiz and Original owner Robert L. Self over the restaurant’s current lease since it was signed in 2003. It was Muzquiz’s mother, the late Leticia Grimaldo who signed the 2003 lease agreement and it was Muzquiz who inherited the property from her in 2014. Recently, the El Paso state of appeals court heard the lease agreement and returned it for a future hearing in Tarrant County.
This ruling comes a year after the 8th Texas Court of Appeals in El Paso ruled that the current lease on the property is not “perpetual” and can end.
An Opinion, given by justice Jeff Alley on the lease states, “This case represents something of a landlord’s worst nightmare. What may have looked like an acceptable deal in 2003, has become a bad one. While the rent is fixed, the costs for insurance, repairs, and taxes are not.”
Court documents state that Muzquiz testified that by 2017, the tax and insurance burden attributable to the lease premises was approximately $26,000, or $1,000 below the annual rental rate being paid by the Original owner, Self. It was at this point in time that Muzquiz listed the property for sale but didn't receive any buyers given the term of the lease is perpetual. In fact, Muzquiz may be relegated to a property that could cost him more to maintain than it generates in income, a court document states.
So, what does this mean for the Original? Well for now it seems the business will continue to stay open until a legal decision has been made. Fort Worth Magazine reached out to Self, but he was not available for comment by press time.
Records indicate that the Original Mexican Restaurant was opened in 1930 by founders Lola San Miguel Pineda and her husband Geronimo Pineda, who were both immigrants from other countries. Today, the Original has a second location at 1400 N. Main Street.
