Frank Cuellar Collection

The Cuellar family's struggle to find their way in a new country in the early 1900s was typical of many other families.  The constant uprooting of home, the search for economic stability, the uncertainty of the future, were all elements of life for migrating families.  Adelaida and Macario Cuellar found their stability through a life of farming in Kaufman, Texas, beginning in 1913.  Their sons, although dutiful and respectful of their parent's wishes, did not relish a life of hard physical labor on a farm.  As they came of age they sought work, with varying degrees of success, in the towns and cities of Texas.

Adelaida provided her children with the blueprint for future accomplishment by setting up a popular concession stand at the Kaufman Fair and later translating that success into a restaurant in town. 

Frank and Amos soon established their own culinary venture in Terrell for a short time,  before the economic ravages of the Depression made the business untenable.

Re-establishment of both restaurants in Kaufman and Terrell in the mid-1930s was the first link in an unbroken chain of profitable family ventures that eventually led to the establishment of the El Chico Restaurants in the 1940s.  Frank's move to a larger market in Shreveport in the 1930s created greater opportunities for his family.

The Plaza Cafe, Shreveport, Louisiana, was opened in 1937.  The cafe was a great success, as Frank predicted, due to the excellent food and service provided customers and a population that was larger than Kaufman or Terrill.

At the same time, his brothers Gilbert and Mack achieved similar results in the restaurant business in Oklahoma City.  The return of Gilbert and Mack to Texas in 1940 and their establishment of El Chico in Dallas provided the opportunity for a combined family enterprise. 

The expansion of El Chico to Fort Worth in 1945 was just such an operation, a family partnership.  Seeing the advantage of working together out of the one business headquarters, Frank joined his brothers in Dallas in 1949 to form a corporation.

With the establishment of El Chico as a partnership, the Cuellar brothers were now positioned to operate both a restaurant business and a canning company.  Although the restaurants were extremely profitable throughout the Fifties, the canning operation was not.  Through experience, proficient advertising, and a track record of business success that made borrowing money for expansion less difficult, the Cuellar brothers and their extended families realized substantial prosperity during the decade of the Sixties.

This trend continued into the Seventies, with restaurants opening in many Southwestern and Southeastern states. 

Frank and his brothers recognized an opportunity to expand even more rapidly through a merger with another large company in the food business, Campbell-Taggart.  In 1978, a year after the merger, Frank decided to pursue other business ventures and retired as chairman of the board of El Chico.

Frank's retirement from El Chico was not a retirement from business activity.  A variety of interests filled his life until his last days.  With his sons, Frank, Jr., Bob, and John, Frank remained active in restaurant and real estate concerns, among other pursuits.  His life continued to serve as an example and inspiration to young entrepreneurs as well as community leaders.  In 1978 Frank Cuellar told his life story to the University of North Texas Oral History Program.  In doing so, he joined with other entrepreneurs such as Mary Kay Ash, Norman Brinker, Bettie Graham, Cecil Green, Enid Justin, Herman Lay, and Lamar Muse who related their person victories and defeats, and the valuable lessons they learned, and the importance of integrity and respect in their business concerns.