Pulido's
The founders, Pedro and Dionicia Pulido.
Bourke Harvey barely had time to catch the news in October about Pulido’s Mexican Restaurant closing its doors after 57 years before he hurriedly got into his car to visit Robert Pulido Sr.
“I literally went down to the chip factory where — I call him Uncle Bobby — that's where his office is,” Harvey said. “He wasn't in and I left him a Post-it note that said we can't let this happen. He called me the next morning and said when can you meet. I said, ‘How about right now?’ I drove down and met him and knocked out a deal fairly quickly.”
So, Pulido’s, the local Tex-Mex staple, will soon again be serving plates of enchiladas and all the rest of its time-honored fare after being given new life by Harvey and Gigi Howell’s Westland Restaurant Group, fast becoming renowned restaurant preservationists.
Harvey said on Wednesday that the plan is to open up all five Pulido’s locations, but they’ll start first with the original location at 2900 Pulido St. near Vickery. The goal is to open that one in March, if everything goes as planned. Those plans include factoring in the challenge faced today by restaurateurs — staffing. If you want a job in restaurants, there has never been a better time to get one.
Harvey bought the brand and the property of the stores in Benbrook, Cleburne, Eastland, and Hurst. The Pulido family did not sell the property where the original location sits, Harvey said. Westland will work off a lease there.
Pulido’s was founded in 1966 by Pedro and Dionicia Pulido, growing into a restaurant from initially cooking for Pedro’s railyard co-workers.
At its peak, the family-owned chain operated 10 locations.
“Our partnership with Pulido's is a natural extension of our core values at Westland,” said Harvey, the group’s managing partner. “Celebrating and sustaining the rich culinary traditions of the Fort Worth area is at the heart of what we do, and Pulido's is a significant piece of that history.”
The Pulidos will work through a transition period, including helping Westland make contact with former employees.
“Our goal is to contact as many of the employees that were working there when they closed and get them back on our team,” Harvey said. “That's going to dictate a lot on when we're able to reopen.”
The Pulido’s acquisition is the latest in a string of now three purchases of local Fort Worth brands by Westland.
In the past year, Westland has acquired Margie’s Italian Gardens and the Westside Café. Harvey said he hopes to reopen Margie’s in March, too. “That's going to be interesting to see how we balance that,” Harvey said, alluding to the planned Pulido’s opening.
Harvey was a Jason’s Deli franchisee for years, opening restaurants in Denton and Oklahoma. He also operates Curly's Frozen Custard on Camp Bowie and is a partner in Rogers Roadhouse on Rogers Road near TCU.
The Westland Group’s first brand was Howell’s JD’s Hamburgers, which opened in 2022. The partners’ vision has been somewhat modified as the opportunities to partner with local brands have presented themselves, brands, Harvey said, that “I grew up enjoying and my family loved.”
“I already had relationships with a lot of these people. And I'm like, ‘Why can't we bring these things back right here in my hometown? So that's what's important to me.
“It's fun to have these old iconic brands of Fort Worth, that are, it appeared to be, you know, kind of at their end. And we're like, not so fast. C’mon on, let's go.”
Said Howell, Westland’s operating partner: “We are excited to continue the legacy of Pulido's Mexican Restaurant. Our aim is to preserve its essence, blending tradition with contemporary elements, as we've successfully done with other local favorites.”