One of Houston’s most famous Tex-Mex crossroads is about to double as a global soccer billboard: The Original Ninfa’s has been picked to host the city’s official welcome mural for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Local artist José “Meenr” Arredondo is painting the piece on a Ninfa ’s-owned warehouse behind the restaurant, with a public reveal set for later this month. The massive work will link international soccer stars with one of the East End’s most recognizable facades.
The mural and who’s on it
According to the Houston Chronicle, FIFA approved using the warehouse at 2727 Canal Street as the official Houston welcome mural site and selected José "Meenr" Arredondo to create it. The Chronicle reports that the spray-painted mural will run about 160 feet long and 20 feet high and will feature Edson Álvarez, Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo. Arredondo told the paper he chose those captains because of the intense preparation and responsibility they shoulder heading into the World Cup.
Why Ninfa's?
The Original Ninfa’s is not just a photogenic wall. It is a Houston landmark. Founded in the 1970s by Maria “Mama Ninfa” Rodriguez Laurenzo, the restaurant is widely credited with helping popularize fajitas and shaping modern Tex-Mex, a legacy explored by Eater Houston. The dining room sits on Navigation Boulevard at 2704 Navigation Blvd, a longtime East End destination highlighted by Time Out.
Artist, community and the East End
Arredondo, who signs his work as Meenr, has helped organize the Buffalo Bayou Mural Festival and other large-scale street art projects in the East End, as reported by Axios. Listings in local mural directories show his pieces scattered along Canal Street and nearby blocks, underscoring that the World Cup mural is rooted in Houston’s existing creative scene rather than a purely corporate installation, per the Houston Mural Map.
When to see it
Legacy Restaurants, which now operates The Original Ninfa’s, backed the project and partnered with Arredondo and media collaborator Telemundo to get it on the wall. The mural is currently in progress and is expected to be officially unveiled later this month, timed to welcome fans heading into World Cup matches in Houston. That schedule and comments from Legacy owner Niel Morgan were reported by the Houston Chronicle.
