Mi Tierra Cafe y Panaderia is a restaurant at El Mercado in San Antonio that is rich in culture and flavor. It was founded in 1941 by Pedro and Cruz Cortez when they merely had 10 tables. Since then, the restaurant has expanded to four different rooms, and now they have opened five locations around San Antonio. Tourists and locals alike go there to enjoy authentic Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine.
As Mi Tierra kept on growing, it became a place where actors and musicians gathered after performing at venues downtown, especially at the Alameda Theater. In the mid-60s, El Mercado and Mi Tierra Cafe were at risk of closing because highways started to expand from New York to California and were destroying a lot of neighborhoods and businesses to make space for them. Pedro Cortez planned ahead and bought more land around El Mercado since it started losing value. Thanks to Cortez’s thinking, he not only managed to save his restaurant, but the whole Mercado as well. That way, Mi Tierra and El Mercado prevailed, and in 2015, the city gave El Mercado another name, “El Centro Histórico,” or “La zona Cultural.”
To emphasize the importance of culture, Jesus Diaz, Jesse Treviño and Robert Ytuarte crafted a beautiful mural in one of the rooms of the restaurant, which they named “The American Dream.” They have painted important figures for Mexican culture as well as Texan culture, from politicians to artists to architects and educators. People like Selena, Robert Rodriguez, Carlos Santana, Rep. Henry B. Gonzalez and Congressman Joaquin Castro are featured, and there is still extra space for more people to be represented.
Mi Tierra Cafe is a great place to have a good evening and dine in a vibrant environment with an enthusiastic and helpful staff. Since you are already at the market, you can also enjoy their free live music and support the many self-owned shops selling crafts. The restaurant has faced difficulties, but they remain resilient. They have surprised the city by how far they have come, which is why it has become a must-go restaurant in San Antonio.
