Restaurants are risky business ventures in the best of circumstances — even the best ones are lucky to be around five or ten years.
So how about 50?
Ojeda’s has been a staple in the gayborhood that long. The Tex-Mex institution has served its crispy beef tacos, its pralines, its tequila shots, to literally generations of Dallas diners… and from the exact same location, at that. (There are now two more — in Desoto and Plano). This year marks its semi-centennial, and Wednesday the restaurant is celebrating with a roll-back on some of the more popular items: $5 enchilada dinner, $5 margarita mugs and 50 cent sopapillas at all locations… plus live mariachi music and promotional giveaways at the Maple Avenue spot.
— Arnold Wayne Jones
Omg! That original on Cedar Springs! The old house! Fondest of memories!
The Ojeda’s on Maple is not the original, nor is the former Ojeda’s on Cedar Springs the original. From the Ojeda’s website: “Then in 1969, after much hard work and a little bit of savings, Ben and Cecilia leased the Peter Pan Grill on the corner of Maple Avenue and Lucas Street in Dallas and renamed it Ojeda’s Mexican Restaurant.” Fifty years in the neighborhood–absolutely. Fifty years at the “exact same location”–no. Their food and hospitality is consistently good, wherever.