A six-year-old with a tamale cart
Matt Martinez sells tamales from a pushcart near the Capitol. He'll grow up to be a Golden Gloves boxer, and the King of Mexican Food.
The family1923 July 7, 1952 The '70s 1986 2012 2017 Today
Seventy-four years of family.
Matt and Janie open El Rancho
About forty seats at First and San Jacinto. Matt works the room; Janie runs the kitchen. The recipes are hers.
Bob Armstrong wants something different
Queso, taco meat, guacamole. The dip gets his name and becomes the most famous thing on the menu.
The hacienda on South Lamar
El Rancho moves into its big South Austin home, where it still is today.
Sixty years, with mariachis
The family celebrates six decades. Matt's daughters and daughter-in-law are still in the kitchen making tortillas, chips and enchiladas.
Sixty-five years, and Matt's hundredth
The 65th anniversary lands on what would have been Matt Sr.'s 100th birthday.
Still family, still Tuesdays off
Both Matts are in the Texas Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. The family still runs it, and the queso is still Bob's.