Los Tios chain secures Texas liquor license for Beechnut Street location
Money Moves Houston, TX localTexas ABC issues mixed beverage permit to Los Tios 4 LLC
August 21st, 2026: Texas ABC issues liquor license to Los Tios 4 LLCNew here? Follow stories to track developments over time. Create a free account to get updates when stories you care about change.
Overview
Updated 38 minutes agoLos Tios, a Houston Tex Mex chain founded in 1970, took a permitting step at its Beechnut Street location. The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) issued a mixed beverage license to Los Tios 4 LLC on August 21.
The license allows the holder to serve mixed drinks but is not the final approval needed to open. The Adair family, which has owned the chain since 2000, must clear additional state and local permits before the restaurant can serve customers.
Why it matters
If the Beechnut Street location opens, Houston's Meyerland area gains a new outpost of a five-decade-old Tex Mex institution.
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People Involved
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A Houston Tex Mex chain founded in 1970, known for puffy queso and the city's first frozen margarita.
The Texas state agency that licenses and regulates all alcoholic beverage sales in the state.
Timeline
January 1970 August 2026
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Texas ABC issues liquor license to Los Tios 4 LLC
Latest PermitTABC grants a mixed beverage permit to Los Tios 4 LLC at 4840 Beechnut Street, Houston.
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Adair family buys Los Tios
Ownership ChangeThe Garbett family sells the chain to the Adair family, who run it today.
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Los Tios introduces frozen margarita
MilestoneThe chain serves what it calls Houston's first frozen margarita from its San Felipe location.
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Garbett family opens Los Tios
FoundingThe first Los Tios restaurant opens in Houston, launching a Tex Mex institution.
Scenarios
Los Tios Opens Beechnut Street Restaurant
Discussed by: Houston Chronicle, Eater Houston, CultureMap Houston
Los Tios clears remaining building and food-service permits, completes renovations at 4840 Beechnut, and opens to customers. The TABC license was the first major regulatory hurdle and signals the chain is committed to the location.
Permitting Drags, Opening Pushed Past One Year
Discussed by: Houston Chronicle restaurant desk
Construction delays, additional permit reviews, or staffing issues push the opening beyond August 2027. The license stays active and Los Tios remains committed, but no opening date is set within the year.
Los Tios Abandons Beechnut Street Plans
Discussed by: Eater Houston
The chain lets the license lapse, transfers it to another entity, or officially cancels plans for 4840 Beechnut. Economic conditions, lease disputes, or a strategic shift could prompt the move.
Historical Context
3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.
Texas legalizes liquor by the drink (1970)
Texas voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing restaurants to serve mixed drinks. Before that, Texas bars and restaurants could only sell beer and wine, and customers had to bring their own liquor to mix with it. The 1970 referendum created the legal framework for the mixed beverage permits TABC issues today.
Restaurants across Texas began adding cocktails to their menus, transforming the dining scene almost overnight.
The MB permit became standard for full-service restaurants in Texas, and TABC built its licensing system around it.
The license Los Tios 4 LLC just received is the direct descendant of this 1970 legal change — the mechanism that lets a Houston Tex Mex restaurant serve frozen margaritas.
Ninfa's grows from taquería to chain (1973–1980s)
Ninfa Laurenzo opened a 28-seat restaurant on Navigation Boulevard in Houston's East End. Within a decade, Ninfa's had become one of the city's most recognizable Tex Mex brands, expanding to multiple locations across the metro area.
Ninfa's proved a neighborhood Tex Mex restaurant could scale into a regional chain.
The brand changed hands multiple times, showing both the growth potential and the ownership risks of Houston restaurant families.
Los Tios operates on the same growth model — a family-owned Tex Mex restaurant expanding to multiple locations across Houston.
Pappas family builds multi-brand restaurant group (1976–present)
The Pappas family grew from a single Houston cafe into one of the city's largest restaurant operators, with brands like Pappadeaux, Pappasito's, and Pappas Steakhouse. Each brand operates through separate corporate entities.
The family became a dominant force in Houston dining.
Their corporate structure — separate LLCs per location — became the standard model for growing Houston restaurant groups.
Los Tios 4 LLC follows this same structure: separate legal entities for each restaurant location, with the family holding company above them.
