A South Texas taco chain known for its 24-hour drive-thrus and self-serve salsa bar is about to fill one of Cypress's most visible empty storefronts. Taco Palenque plans to open its first Cypress location later in September at 26003 Hwy. 290 near Fry Road, taking over the 4,000-square-foot building that once housed a Panera Bread.
State licensing records filed in early 2026 showed the company is putting $550,000 into renovating the existing building to fit its fast-casual layout, according to Community Impact, which first reported the opening. Officials confirmed the Cypress restaurant is set to open later this month, per that report, giving Highway 290 commuters a new option for tacos, burritos, parrilladas and plates, along with breakfast items, quesadillas and soups listed on the chain's online menu.
A Prime Vacancy Left By Panera's Bankruptcy
The Cypress address has sat empty since a rough stretch for the property last year. The site at 26003 Northwest Freeway was previously occupied by a Panera Bread that abruptly closed in August 2025 after its franchisee, EYM Café of Texas LLC, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to My Neighborhood News. That bankruptcy triggered the sudden shutdown of 15 Panera locations across the Houston area, leaving a string of prime commercial buildings vacant along corridors like 290.
Taco Palenque's move fills that particular gap by converting the shuttered restaurant rather than building from scratch — a pattern the chain has repeated elsewhere in the region. State permit filings from August 2026 showed the company also planned a $1.2 million adaptive reuse project turning a former Whataburger on the Southwest Freeway in Houston's Upper Kirby area into another restaurant, per KHOU 11, though those filings reflect preliminary plans that could still shift.
From Laredo Border Town to Houston Suburbs
Taco Palenque's roots stretch back to 1987, when it was founded in Laredo by Juan Francisco “Don Pancho” Ochoa. Ochoa had already made his mark on the restaurant industry more than a decade earlier, having created the El Pollo Loco grilled chicken chain in Mexico in 1975 before selling its U.S. rights to Denny's in 1983, according to a document filed with the Texas Legislature Online. Taco Palenque today has grown to more than 40 locations across Texas and Northern Mexico, including sites in Monterrey and Nuevo Laredo, with the company now run by Ochoa's son, Juan Francisco Ochoa Jr., per WhatNow.com.
The chain's expansion into the Houston suburbs has been building for months. Taco Palenque opened a new restaurant at Spring Town Center in Spring on March 26, developed under a ground lease at Kuykendahl Road and FM 2920, according to Community Impact's coverage of that opening. The Cypress location marks the next step in that suburban push, positioning Houston's northwest corridor as fresh territory for the South Texas brand.
What's On The Menu, And Who's Hiring
Regulars know Taco Palenque for its Pirata taco, a flagship item made with flame-grilled fajitas, refried beans and melted cheddar cheese wrapped in a flour tortilla, as WhatNow.com describes it. The Fresh Mex menu also includes horchata, tres leches and arroz con leche, per the chain's online menu, and every location features a self-service salsa bar with more than seven varieties of fresh homemade salsas, pico de gallo and complimentary tortilla chips — a hallmark of the brand's dining experience dating back to at least a 2010 review in the Houston Press.
For job seekers, the new Cypress store is also hiring. Listings posted in 2026 advertised starting wages from $13.50 per hour for cashiers, cooks and food prep workers across full-time and part-time shifts, with cashier positions requiring fluency in both English and Spanish, according to a posting on SimplyHired.
A Chain With A Growing Texas Footprint
Taco Palenque's Houston-area growth follows a similar expansion into Central Texas that Hoodline covered when the chain opened a new San Marcos outlet in 2024. The brand has also leaned into high-profile community marketing elsewhere in the state; this spring, Taco Palenque partnered with the NBA's San Antonio Spurs to hand out free tacos and coffee to hundreds of fans at playoff rallies and pop-up events during the team's postseason run.
Whether the Cypress location becomes as much a neighborhood fixture as some of the chain's longtime San Antonio spots remains to be seen. For now, Highway 290 drivers near Fry Road have a firm opening window: later this month, once the former Panera's transformation is complete.
