Beloved Fort Worth Mexican Restaurants Are Getting a Miracle Comeback — Pulido’s Is Returning Under New Ownership

Hold on to your cheese enchiladas, rice, and beans. Two months after Fort Worth’s beloved Pulido’s Mexican Restaurant revealed its permanent closure, a new lifeline has emerged. Pulido’s will make a comeback soon thanks to new ownership. It’s truly a Christmas miracle for fans of this iconic hometown restaurant.

“Pulido’s is reopening,” Gigi Howell of Westland Restaurant Group tells PaperCity Fort Worth. “We plan to reopen the original Fort Worth location first at 2900 Pulido Street, but then we’ll reopen four others as well. In Benbrook, Cleburne, Eastland and Hurst.”

That’s right. Pulido’s homemade salsa, fresh tortillas and crispy chalupas are all returning. 2024 is already looking up.

Many Fort Worth natives were emotional when they learned that Pulido’s Mexican Restaurant was closing for good after 57 years as a family-owned chain. Now, PaperCity Fort Worth has learned that the Pulido family has struck a deal with Bourke Harvey and Gigi Howell. That’s the same team at Westland Restaurant Group that took over ownership of two other Fort Worth restaurant icons recently — Margie’s Italian in Westland and Westside Cafe on Camp Bowie West.

It seems that breathing new life into iconic local restaurants is really becoming the Westland group’s thing.

One addition to the team will be Marc McBride, who will serve as director of operations overseeing all five reemerging Pulido’s Mexican restaurants. McBride and Howell worked together at Reata in the past.

“I eat at the original location about once a week and I’ve known the Pulido family my whole life,” Harvey tells PaperCity. Harvey also frequented the Eastland Pulido’s, since it’s on the way to his ranch. Owning and restoring this piece of Fort Worth restaurant history means a lot to him.

“I couldn’t believe the news when it was announced last October,” Harvey says. “I dropped by to speak with Robert Pulido Sr. in the days that followed. He wasn’t in, so I left a simple Post It note on his desk with my number.

“It read: ‘Don’t let this end. I can help you.’ ”

Plans For Pulido’s Return

So how will this Puludo’s comeback play out?

“We plan to get as many of the original employees hired back as we can,” Harvey says. “I’ve got a list of their names. We hope to reopen the first location sometime in March.”

Much like with Margie’s and Westside Cafe, Harvey and Howell will take the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” philosophy to Pulido’s. They plan to brighten the Mexican restaurant spaces with a fresh coat of paint, rework the landscaping and only do necessary cosmetic upgrades, including perhaps a few new light fixtures.

“The bones of these buildings are in good shape,” Harvey says. “I’m changing very little. A lot of people don’t know that Pulido’s has a five page menu, and their food is already solid and consistent. And we feel like at its price point, it’s the best deal in town.”

The Pulido’s Tortilla Factory located off Winscott Road will not be making a comeback. It made sense to have a central location preparing all the tortillas and chips when there were some 10 Pulido’s restaurants, but it’s not necessary in the reopening of these five restaurants. The tortillas and chips will now be made fresh in-house at all five Pulido’s.

Westland Restaurant Group also plans to invest in an online ordering platform for Pulido’s to add ease and convenience for its loyal customers. Pulido’s was founded by Pedro and Dionicia Pulido in 1966, so generations of Fort Worth diners have loved it and now get to welcome Pulido’s Mexican restaurants back to the community. The five Pulido’s re-openings will be rolled out one at a time.

“We’re going to work closely with the family on this transition, preserving what they’ve built over decades,” Howell says. “We love Pulido’s, and are so excited to be able to bring it back.”