By Natalie Lozano Trimble
Photography by Jill Johnson
A party of 70 was walking into Fort Worth’s Mercado Juarez Cafe for lunch in April 2023 when its new owner, Marcus Paslay, entered. Some restaurants would quote a multi-hour wait or be unable to accommodate a group that large, says longtime Mercado Juarez employee Pedro Ramirez. However, the host informed the group that they would be seated as soon as they pushed the tables together.
“I thought to myself, ‘holy moly,’” Paslay says. “Restaurants aren’t built this big anymore.”
Paslay’s restaurant group, From Scratch Hospitality, operates four other concepts, but Mercado Juarez, at 12,000 square feet, is more than twice as big as their next largest building.
The eatery used to be a warehouse, Ramirez says, with the perfect dimensions, ample parking, and a location off I-35W that made it a popular stop for sports teams.
“And it’s still fast, which is the best part,” Paslay says. “The speed at which people get fed and taken care of is pretty crazy.”
Ramirez, who started at the North Arlington location in 1993, says that mesquite-grilled fajitas, served with house-made tortillas, have been a consistent favorite over the years. Meanwhile, the menu’s more authentic entrees, such as guiso de res and carne asada, are hard to find outside of Mexico.
When Don Bowden opened the first Mercado Juarez in Dallas in 1982, he leaned on years of experience from his partnership in Pancho’s Mexican Buffet and as the founder of Dos Gringos. At one point, he had five Mercado locations in three states, Ramirez says. Today, the only two still open are in Fort Worth and Arlington.
Bowden’s resourcefulness helped establish the brand’s distinct identity. He was one of the first to bring a flour tortilla machine up from Mexico, Ramirez says, and was the first to preserve avocado pulp, an innovation that became Wholly Guacamole.
When Bowden was ready to retire in 2001, he sold the concept to a group of 19 managers, Ramirez says. Although he was not a manager at the time, Ramirez joined the ownership group a few years later.
By 2023, many of his fellow owners were ready to retire and began looking for a buyer. The broker they hired happened to have lunch with Paslay and asked him what his next steps were. At the time, From Scratch Hospitality was just a few months away from opening Walloon’s Restaurant in the Near Southside. When Paslay said he was hoping to own the real estate of their next venture, the broker mentioned two Tex-Mex restaurants that weren’t on the market yet but would include the land, Paslay says.
“The more we looked at it, the more we liked it and saw the potential,” Paslay says.
Ramirez says his fellow owners were worried about changes a new owner might make, but the From Scratch Hospitality team shares their desire to preserve the essence of Mercado Juarez. Most changes have been administrative or investing in infrastructure, Paslay says. One of the only noticeable differences is where patrons pay: at their table instead of the front register.
“We have goals and aspirations, ya know to grow and grow the concept, but we want to make sure we’re not … screwing up a good thing first,” Paslay says. “Our plan is just to update it without changing all the good stuff.”
Find the recipe for Mercado Juarez’s Marinated Beef Fajitas here.