El Fenix Mexican Restaurant at 3450 S. Central Expressway in McKinney went dark on September 4, after the city's Fire Marshal ordered the Tex-Mex chain closed over structural and electrical safety violations that officials said could jeopardize public safety. The closure hit one of North Texas's most storied restaurant names, a chain that traces its roots back more than a century to Dallas.
McKinney Fire Marshal Brian M. Roach ordered the shutdown after finding evidence of the hazards at the property, according to Community Impact. The McKinney location typically serves the chain's staple Tex-Mex plates — quesadillas, enchiladas, tacos, burritos and fajitas — and is one of several North Texas outposts that include Dallas, Mesquite and Plano, per the same report. The chain's website is elfenix.com.
The Legal Muscle Behind the Shutdown
Ordinance No. 2025-08-066 formally adopted the 2024 International Fire Code with local amendments in McKinney, according to the City of McKinney. The code addresses fire-code and fire-protection requirements. The cited material does not detail the Central Expressway location's permitting history.
A Dallas Original Turns 108
El Fenix was founded in Dallas on September 15, 1918, by Mexican immigrant Miguel “Mike” Martinez and his wife Faustina, and it is widely recognized as the oldest Mexican restaurant chain in the United States and a pioneer of Tex-Mex cuisine, according to the Texas Historical Commission. Historical accounts discuss the chain's Dallas menus and locations.
The Martinez family sold the chain on May 30, 2008, for over $30 million in cash to Dallas businessman Mike Karns through Firebird Restaurant Group LLC, ending 90 years of family ownership, according to Wikipedia. At the time of that sale, the chain had 15 locations and roughly $33 million in annual sales. Firebird later rebranded as Local Favorite Restaurants in late 2019 and, after acquiring Cotton Patch Cafe on June 29, 2026, grew its footprint to 99 locations across 10 Texas-born brands, per PR Newswire. That portfolio also includes Snuffer's Restaurant & Bar, Meso Maya, Taqueria La Ventana, Village Burger Bar, and Twisted Root Burger Co.
Corporate Leadership and a Bumpy Year for the Brand
Local Favorite Restaurants CEO Brandon Coleman III took over the corporate group in June 2026 after previously steering Cotton Patch Cafe through six consecutive quarters of positive same-store sales and traffic growth, according to Local Profile. Founder Mike Karns has since shifted into a role the company calls “Free-Range Creative,” focusing on brand expansion while Coleman runs day-to-day operations. Twisted Root Burger Co. is also part of the company's portfolio.
Central Expressway's Rough Stretch
The El Fenix closure came amid another safety-related restaurant disruption this year along McKinney's Central Expressway corridor. A fire-damaged Dickey's Barbecue Pit at 600 N. Central Expressway sat dark for months before filing a $350,000 interior reconstruction plan in August, a project that required registration for a formal accessibility review, as Hoodline previously reported in its piece on the fire-damaged smokehouse's rebuild plan. The corridor has also seen turnover on the opening side, including Dallas staple Cafe Brazil's planned 24-hour restaurant at 318 N. Central Expressway, slated for this past summer.
Sudden repair-driven closures like El Fenix's can carry outsized financial risk for independent and regional operators. Volatile ingredient costs, elevated rents and tighter profit margins can leave restaurant operators especially vulnerable when unexpected facility repairs force an unplanned shutdown, compounding financial pressure beyond the immediate cost of fixing the building. For a chain with El Fenix's history and brand recognition, the pressure to reopen quickly — while still satisfying the Fire Marshal's structural and electrical requirements — will likely shape how soon McKinney diners see the Central Expressway location welcome them back.
