It starts with a Texas couple with a shameless love for tamales. It was their choice for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Whether it was a regular old weeknight or a candlelit anniversary date, tamales were served to perfection. Soon, the wife grew concerned about the fat content they were consuming, so why not try her hand at making them?

Not only would she soon perfect the art of tamale making, but she branched out, trying new recipes to come up with a healthier option using vegetable shortening instead of lard. That gave the tamales their own flair and signature quality.

Like a true Texan, she shared her new tamale wealth with neighbors. They were soon “casually begging” for leftovers, showing up and putting in special requests. The wife soon realized those were special orders. She and her husband also noticed how loose the term “neighbors” became; they had people showing up at dinnertime from nearly 20 miles in either direction!

A few neighbors inquired how much she would charge for extras, and soon they talked her into opening a small roadside cart. Passersby spread the word to their friends and families about the tasty, homemade tamales; the demand took off and outgrew her home kitchen. Time for an upgrade!

That’s when the deli came into the picture. This location on Fountain View is now the permanent home of The Mexican Deli, where the same Texas-inspired recipes have been made for decades. Our customers have come to know and love the consistency of our products. And they know we always want to hear ideas for new inspiration. In fact, that’s how we started serving breakfast tacos! You can grab a breakfast taco Tuesday through Saturday 7:30a-10:30a thanks to that suggestion in 1997!

*Note – we use the term restaurant loosely here; there are only 3 tables and a little counter space!

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Don't forget, our Mexican Deli storefront isn't the only place to get our authentic Texas Tamales, you can also buy our Texas Tamales online and in a grocery store near you.

See our listing on Yelp