After a two year mix of success and struggle, Jose Luis Rodriguez hopes to defy the odds and rekindle his recipe for the American dream again.
DALLAS — Mixtitos Kitchen, a family-owned and operated restaurant in East Dallas that opened with great expectations more than two years ago, closed its doors for good this week after business and patronage did not match those early hopes and dreams.
But Jose Luis Rodriguez and his wife Harumi say the dream is only delayed, not dead.
“Anything you want is possible here in America,” Rodriguez told us in 2022 shortly after opening the restaurant in a leased space at the corner of Samuel and Grand. After working for more than two decades at other businesses as a waiter and restaurant manager, he and his family decided to act on their dream and open a restaurant of their own. Mixtitos Kitchen would be a mix of their Mexican and Japanese heritages.
“His dream became mine,” his wife Harumi Totsuka Rodriguez said. “Because I believe in him.”
But this week, faced with mounting losses and falling behind in their lease, they were locked out of the restaurant and a large “for lease” banner now hangs in front of the Mixtitos sign. Two years of awards and rave reviews were not enough to overcome what they believe was the wrong location.
“It’s not only one person’s dream. It’s a lot of people’s dreams,” Jose Luis said.
Two days after the restaurant was shuttered they are at home trying to figure out where their dreams take them next.
“We’re OK. We’re pretty positive actually,” Harumi said. “Because the support of the community, it’s overwhelmingly good.”
Good reviews, however, could not overcome the law of averages. According to the National Restaurant Association, 60% of restaurants fail in their first year, and 80% fold before their fifth anniversary. Still, the Rodriguez family is not giving up.
“She’s the most wonderful support I ever thought I’m gonna have because she’s always ‘come on Jose Luis you keep going.'” he said sitting next to his wife.
“Absolutely,” Jose Luis said when asked if they would attempt opening a restaurant again at a different location.
“Of course,” Harumi said. “God willing because we are firm believers in God because he is the one who gives us the strength, the guidance, the people, and everything to keep going.”
And they plan to keep going for themselves, their four children, an extended family and a small but loyal customer base who learned to call the restaurant their home. They believe their menu of traditional Mexican dishes along with items like Japanese Shepherd Pie and discada-filled Croque Monsieur sandwiches will be reborn somewhere else.
The next chapter of their dream, they believe, is a recipe still being written.
“It’s very possible,” Jose Luis said.
“I think it’s closer than we think,” Harumi added.