The Oldest Family-Owned Mexican Restaurant In The US Is Still Open Today

Americans have had a love for Mexican food that goes back centuries. After all, Mexicans have lived in regions from present-day California to Kansas since before the United States was even officially a country – an astounding 1 in 10 U.S. restaurants serve Mexican cuisine, according to the Pew Research Center. 

While it wasn't until the early 20th century that El Charro Café opened its doors, it's still going strong, making it the oldest continually operating family-run Mexican restaurant in the United States. This Tucson, Arizona, establishment has been serving up northern Mexican favorites since 1922, including the chimichangas El Charro founder Tia Monica Flin is credited with inventing.

The café took its name from the charros, traditional Mexican cowboys or horsemen. Charros have been iconic figures in Mexican culture since before the country gained independence, and they have also lent their name to frijoles charros, the simple dish Elvis Presley always ordered at Mexican restaurants. You can find these "cowboy beans" as a side with your meal at El Charro Café, although it also offers refried beans if you prefer. The menu at El Charro Café also features several Mexican staples you have to try at least once, along with classic dishes like tacos and enchiladas. You can even finish your meal with unique desserts like the chocolate hazelnut tamal or an apple pie chimichanga.

When Tia (Spanish for "Aunt") Monica Flin first opened El Charro Café, she was well-known in Tucson as both an excellent cook and a bold woman who was willing to open a restaurant at a time when women rarely went into business. While the business faced challenges, including relocating several times, Monica Flin and her family kept at it, even turning the accidental dropping of a burrito into hot oil into the invention of the chimichanga. This combination of classic hospitality and a willingness to be daring wasn't just part of the founding of El Charro Café — it's what keeps the restaurant going even now.

Today, El Charro Café is still serving Mexican classics just like Tia Monica made them at all four Tucson-area locations, although her grandniece Carlotta Flores, who currently runs the business, has tweaked a few recipes. In another modern twist on a heritage business, there are ways to enjoy El Charro without going to Tucson. One spot serving El Charro specialties (sort of) is the submarine U.S.S. Tucson, which has a mess officially named El Charro Down Under. If you're not a Navy submariner, though, you can also order El Charro tamales, mini chimichangas, and enchilada kits, with shipping across the U.S. and parts of Canada.