South First's Mexican Mile Is Being Kept by the People Who Own the Land

"I didn't sell it because I had to; I sold it because I wanted to. And I sold it to someone who gives a damn." Tony Villegas said that to the Austin American-Statesman last December, a few days before El Mercado served its last plates at 1302 S. First St.

Developers had been asking for years to buy that lot, the one his father bought in 1971 and where Villegas's own house once stood next to the restaurant. He wanted no condos or apartments there. He sold the restaurant and the property to a restaurant operator.

Two months later, Rosa Martinez closed Little Mexico farther south at 2304 S. First St. She did much the same thing by a different route. She kept the land and leased it to another restaurant group.

The Statesman calls South First Street Austin's "Mexican Mile," and the winter's two closings read like it was ending. The restaurants changed hands, and the families who owned the dirt are the reason the street still eats the way it does.

Two lots, two owners, the same call

The El Mercado and Little Mexico handoffs are easiest to compare side by side.

The deals differed, but the reasoning was the same. Martinez retired after 50 years in the restaurant business. The Statesman reported that the Travis County Appraisal District assesses her land at about $3 million, and she did not sell it.

Martinez worked her way to that parcel. Before opening her first seven-table restaurant in North Austin in 1986, she worked 11 years at La Reyna Bakery on South First. The previous owner of the 2304 property then gave her a lease-to-own arrangement. The Statesman's account traces the restaurant from a one-woman operation to 50 tables and seating for more than 200.

Those dates matter. Both families bought before South First became the street the Statesman says has seen "massive development over the last decade." Owning the land outright is why each of them had a choice. A tenant facing a lease renewal rarely gets to decide what replaces them.

2004 South First has done this before

Polvos is the clearest case that a building can keep its purpose while the restaurant inside it turns over. According to a Statesman history of Austin Tex-Mex published Oct. 21, four Tex-Mex restaurants have occupied 2004 S. First St. over the past four decades. Before that, the building held a bakery and a furniture shop.

1. Xalapeño Charlie's, 1985. Charles Clinton Duggan opened it with the motto "The jalapeño is king here," and every plate came with a whole jalapeño. He moved to Barton Springs Boulevard in 1987.
2. Seis Salsas, about 1987 to 1996. Luis and Alicia Montemayor ran a salsa-bar café for roughly a decade, built around cilantro, chipotle, serrano, ranchero, tomato and onion salsas.
3. El Mexicano, 1996 to 1997. Jose and Elvira Ramirez ran it briefly.
4. Polvos, 1997 to today. Oscar "Polvo" Linares opened it. Two years later, GQ praised its breakfast. In 2018 he added a second location downtown.

Polvos' own site still lists Polvos South at 2004 S. First St. and Polvos Downtown at 360 Nueces St. It describes its food as interior Mexican cooking for 78704.

Read alongside the El Mercado and Little Mexico stories, that list shows the corridor has always worked this way. The name on the sign changed three times at 2004 S. First while the cooking stayed. The handoffs this past winter fit a 40-year pattern.

Some of the food carried over

The new occupants did not start from scratch. Villegas told the Statesman that De Nada would "keep a lot of my food and my employees." De Nada's original location opened on East Cesar Chavez Street in 2021. The South First location is run by Stephen Shallcross's 2 Dine 4 Hospitality Group, the team behind Sawyer & Co. and Lil Easy.

The Statesman reported at the time that the new restaurant would serve El Mercado's salsa alongside De Nada's tacos and margaritas. Community Impact lists happy hour specials, a late-night menu, and margaritas in pink cups.

Little Mexico's recipes went with a person instead of a building. Chef Jose Tomas Esquivel started working for Martinez at 19 and cooked the restaurant's final plate of fajitas. He runs a catering service, Tex-Mex Banquettes. "People will still be able to get our food, because he'll be using our recipes," Martinez told the Statesman.

The 2304 S. First lot is the open question. F&P Group runs Dairy Queen, Schlotzsky's and Cinnabon franchises. Lozano said in February that the group had two Austin partners with long restaurant careers and an original concept it planned to announce later that month. "We are honored and grateful to be the new tenants," Lozano said then. "But right now is the time to show Ms. Martinez grace and honor her."

The music was the piece Martinez worried about most. Little Mexico hosted meetings of the Tejano Music Coalition and tardeadas every two weeks, with bands like Susan Torres y Conjunto Clemencia and Conjunto Los Pinky's. The last two were Los Marceles on Feb. 22 and Grupo Cruzantes on Feb. 28. "I'm worried about where people in the community will be able to go to see this music," Martinez said.

Where the Mile ended without a handoff

Not every closing has gone this way. The Statesman lists Jovita's and La Mexicana Bakery among the street's past regulars. La Mexicana opened at 1924 S. First on Mother's Day 1989 and closed in 2022 after 32 years. The owner's daughter told the Statesman that he was retiring and had not been pushed out. Even the losses on this street have mostly come down to owners making their own timing.

Next door to La Mexicana's old address, Bouldin Creek Cafe has lasted on a different model. The vegetarian café opened at 1900 S. First on June 15, 2000. At its 25th anniversary last year, owner Leslie Martin told Community Impact the café aimed to put people first and adapt to Austin's changes while staying true to its mission.

A walk down the street this weekend

Here is the stretch in address order, with the newer arrivals listed where they fall.

• De Nada Cantina, 1302 S. First St. El Mercado's building, now serving tacos, margaritas and a late-night menu.
• The Well, 409 W. Monroe St. Just off First, the chain's fourth Austin location serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.
• Boni's, 1805 S. First St. A Spanish cocktail bar with tapas-style food, next to Lenoir, open since this summer.
• Bouldin Creek Cafe, 1900 S. First St. Vegetarian and vegan, at this address since 2000.
• Polvos, 2004 S. First St. The fourth Tex-Mex restaurant in this building and the longest-running, since 1997.
• Alice Poulain Café, 2214 S. First St. Opened in May with French-style café food, pastries, imported wines and cheeses.
• 2304 S. First St. Little Mexico's former home, leased to F&P Group for an original concept the group said in February it would announce.

The newer places on that list are a Spanish bar and a French café. The Tex-Mex is concentrated at the two addresses where an owner had the deed and a say in what came next, plus one building that has served Tex-Mex for 40 years.

Where the street's next chapter gets discussed

The Bouldin Creek Neighborhood Association's calendar lists a Steering Committee meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 1, from 6:45 to 8 p.m. at Jesus Deaf Church, 1307 Newton St. The General Association meeting follows on Tuesday, Dec. 8, from 6:45 to 9 p.m. at the Texas School for the Deaf Administrative and Welcome Center, 1120 S. Congress Ave. Details are on the BCNA events page.

If you own a piece of South First, or a house a few blocks off it, and you've wondered what your own handoff might look like, I'm glad to talk it through without any pressure. After more than 20 years in central Austin, Jason Heffron has watched plenty of owners decide what their property becomes next. Book a Consultation and we'll start with your timeline and what you want for your property.