Buenos Dias, a new breakfast concept from the Lozano family behind viral favorite Doña Leti’s, opens Friday morning in the former Denny’s on Houston’s Washington Avenue. The 110-seat spot will sling a mix of Mexican and Salvadoran morning plates like breakfast tacos, a chilaquiles burrito, pambazos and flan-topped pancakes, along with playful drinks such as a soft-serve mimosa and full bar cocktails. The family says the project grew out of a parking crunch across the street and is keeping to breakfast and brunch hours to catch the morning crowd.
The colorful, tile-lined dining room sits directly across from one of Doña Leti’s existing locations and is decked out with cowboy hats and boot-shaped vases as a tribute to matriarch Ana Leticia Hernandez, who died five years ago. The Lozanos took over the old Denny’s about a year ago, saying they “literally couldn’t lose” the parking. Buenos Dias will open with seating for about 110 guests and hours from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. As reported by the Houston Chronicle, the menu blends classic breakfast favorites with Salvadoran plates and a cafe de olla cart.
From Fruit Cups To A Washington-Ave Restaurant Family
The Lozanos started small, selling their mother’s mixed fruit cups and slowly leveling up from a cooler to a food truck and then to brick-and-mortar restaurants. That steady climb helped turn Doña Leti’s into a social media sensation and set the stage for this latest expansion, as detailed by Houstonia. Those long lines have now been parlayed into two Doña Leti’s locations and a separate breakfast-focused brand.
Menu Mixes Classic Morning Dishes With Twists
“My mom, she was a very big breakfast person,” co-owner Marcela Lozano said, and the menu leans into that memory with menudo, pupusas on the El Presidente plate and the kind of comfort touches the family is known for. The lineup also brings back Doña Leti’s famed egg rolls, here stuffed with carnitas or chorizo-potato-cheese, plus watermelon margaritas with tamarind tequila, frozen mangonada mimosas and a soft-serve mimosa. “We literally couldn’t lose it,” co-owner Kalli Lozano added about taking over the Denny’s building, as reported by the Houston Chronicle.
What To Expect
The concept is designed to be approachable and fun: big plates, family recipes and a few clearly viral-ready drinks that the Lozanos have already proven can draw serious lines. Doña Leti’s remains the family’s main brand, with its locations and rise to local fame detailed on Doña Leti’s. Expect crowds early on opening weekend and a menu that mixes homestyle comfort with playful twists, keeping the focus on food that, as the family puts it, feels like home.
