A mother and daughter who once worked 14-hour days out of a food truck near Baylor Scott & White have turned that hustle into Cafecito, a full-service restaurant at 401 W. Magnolia Ave. in Fort Worth's Near Southside, complete with a pink sign perched atop the building's vintage W.F. Laurence Fine Flowers signage. The concept, born during the COVID-19 pandemic, now anchors a stretch of Magnolia Avenue known for its rotating cast of food and beverage concepts.
Co-founder Cinthya Duran and her mother, Yaneth Sanchez, started Cafecito in a small food truck off 8th Avenue, according to CBS Texas. Duran has said celebrating Hispanic identity, culture and origins is important to her, and she has explained that the idea took root because she could not find a local breakfast that compared to her mother's cooking. It was Duran's husband, Adrian Duran, who first proposed launching Cafecito during the pandemic, and Sanchez, who had long wanted to own a restaurant, helped build the business from the ground up alongside her daughter.
From a Food Truck to a Food Hall Counter
Cafecito's early growth took it from the food truck into a counter-service space inside Funky Town Food Hall, where the grand opening reportedly filled the entire hall. The food hall, located at 1229 8th Avenue, has served as a launching pad for other local concepts, including CultureMap Tastemaker nominee Beren Mediterranean, according to CultureMap Fort Worth. Hoodline covered that same culinary incubator earlier this year in its 16-restaurant showdown report.
Cafecito later moved from its food hall counter into a brick-and-mortar, full-service restaurant on Magnolia Avenue. That address has seen plenty of turnover: the space previously housed Asian-fusion eatery Eazy Monkey and, before that, New American restaurant Fixture Kitchen & Social Lounge, which closed in late 2022, according to CultureMap Fort Worth. Hoodline had profiled Fixture back in 2019 as one of the area's top brunch spots in its piece on Fort Worth's top breakfast spots.
Pink Branding, Full Bar and Expanded Menu
The menu has grown well beyond its original food-truck roots, and it still serves café de olla and mole alongside its now-signature pink-themed dishes. The expanded lineup includes chilaquiles and pink corn tortilla options. Its beverage program includes Mazapán lattes, mimosas, a coffee bar and a full bar.
Cafecito also sources its bakery baskets from Don Goyo Panadería, a Mexican bakery on McCart Avenue, for daily assortments of fresh pan dulce, according to a description on the restaurant's Toast ordering page. The partnership reflects a broader pattern along the corridor, where independent food and beverage concepts continue to open near one another — including the new coffee-cocktail lounge that debuted nearby earlier this year.
A Neighborhood Built on Hispanic Heritage
The restaurant's cultural focus is rooted in Fort Worth's Near Southside. Fort Worth's 76104 ZIP code covers the Near Southside neighborhood around Magnolia Avenue. Citywide, Hispanic residents make up 34.63% of Fort Worth's population. The Near Southside district itself is home to the restaurant.
Cafecito's rise is part of the city's evolving food scene. The business also appears on ezCater.
A Space for Mothers and Daughters
For Duran, Cafecito is more than a restaurant — she has described it as a gathering space for families, friends and the community, and a place fit for celebrations and special occasions. She has said Cafecito is a special place for girls' days and for mothers and daughters, framing the restaurant as an extension of her own relationship with Sanchez.
Duran has also said she hopes to be a role model for her daughters, adding that she wants them to know that anything is possible and that they can chase their dreams. She has said she will support her daughters fully, whatever path they choose, carrying forward the same push that first took Cafecito from a food truck near Baylor Scott & White to a full house at its Magnolia Avenue grand opening.
