El Jarrito opened for business in November 23, 1998. It is a family owned business, owned by Gildardo (Gil) Leon y familia. Senor Leon for many years worked as a waiter at a Mexican Restaurant near BP in Houston, Texas. Here he gained his experience in the restaurant business.

In early 1998, he and his family began to make ALL the tables, chairs, and booths that you now see in the restaurant. There were many drops of sweat in the making of all the furniture. But, alas, it was completed.

When El Jarrito first opened, there were many challenges. Mr. Leon needed to learn to manage. He had only waited tables before, but knew he could make delicious plates of Mexican food. After a learning curve of how to manage a restaurant, he began to improve in service. Today, both service and food is GREAT! The food is made FRESH daily. For two years in a row, El Jarrito Mexican Restaurant was chosen by the general public on http://www.citysearch.com as “The Best Mexican Restaurant” in all of Houston. He wishes to thank you for this honor!

Due to a fantastic growth in his business, Mr. Leon purchased new land and built his own restaurant where he currently serves the food we all love. The grand opening of the current restaurant on Highland Knolls took place in August 11, 2005. Rick Perry, Gov. of Texas, was on hand to cut the opening ribbon along with many other State and Local dignitaries.

Mr. Leon and family are now citizens of the United States of America. The were born in Celaya, Mexico. They take pride in their heritage of Mexico, but at the same time, they are extremely proud to be citizens of this GREAT country. Gil (Gildardo) Leon is an example of what can be done in this country if one only works hard and has good principles in business.

(This was written by his proud friend…. John Warner)

This project was made possible by the thoughtful contributions of the following people: Lynn Bortka, John Warner, Randal Roacket.