Authenticity is at the forefront of everything Angel Cabrera does. The owner of Tacos Doña Lena—named for his mother Magdalena “Lena” Cabrera—has taken his restaurant in Spring Branch to a beloved spot for Houston food lovers. Now, he’s ready for his next venture: a second location in the Lazybrook/Timbergrove neighborhood near the Heights.

The new location, which spans 3,000 square feet, is slated to open in late April or early May at 1805 W. 18th St. Upon walking in, diners will be greeted with the same Mexican spirit the Spring Branch restaurant boasts, including the same orange walls, colorful piñatas, and some other decor from Jalisco, Mexico.

“One thing that I’ve learned is that when people love something, don’t change it,” Cabrera says. “So, basically, we’re going to keep everything the same.”

Cabrera plans to offer the same menu items, including the restaurant’s beloved birria tacos, quesabirria, and authentic homemade salsas. Diners can also look forward to new items at the second location such as elote and certain dessert surprises—Cabrera says he doesn’t want to give away too much detail just yet.

However, one big change he is willing to share is what we might be most excited for: a bar with margaritas.

Cabrera says the new location will function similarly to the counter and bar service at places like Dish Society. His goal is to make people feel at home while offering chill vibes and plenty of time to enjoy their meals—or margs.

With the bigger space, Cabrera says he’s already looking to the future when it comes to more fun activities for the area. One idea he hopes to bring to fruition next year is a block party to celebrate Cinco De Mayo.

“Even though there’s a lot happening in the Heights, I feel like they don’t have this,” Cabrera says. “So I think we have a really big chance. We’re gonna bring it.”

Cabrera says it’s still hard to believe that he, his family, and the restaurant are where they are today. Looking back, he says the true history of the restaurant began way before the Spring Branch brick-and-mortar came to life.

Understanding why the expansion and the love from Houstonians are so important to Cabrera, he says, goes back to his hardworking parents. Originally from Guanajuato, Mexico, they first began selling tacos there to make some money. Then, in 1992, they made the trek from Mexico to Spring Branch, where his mom continued on with the taco-making business.

Cabrera says she was basically running a full-on restaurant from their apartment for more than 25 years. And although he was once ashamed of this—as any middle-schooler or high-schooler might be, he says—he came to appreciate his mom’s efforts. Eventually, the whole neighborhood knew who his family was because of his mom’s food.

Cabrera went into the food industry himself. He had been working at Barnaby’s Café for 10 years by the time he turned 30, at which point he decided he wanted to do more in life, and he had his mom’s work at the forefront of his mind.

“I would always go over to my mom’s house, and I would help her sell tacos, so that’s kind of where I got the idea,” Cabrera says. “While I was helping her, I realized how hard the work was, like, ‘Wow, this lady has been doing that all her life.’ I was shocked that she was prepping, cooking, and serving, I was just like, ‘How can she even do that?’ And it just broke my heart—I knew I needed to do something.”

So, in early 2019, Cabrera took on the challenge to give his mom everything he says she deserves: a proper restaurant. Growing up in an immigrant family, he says, he learned as he went, which resulted in some trials and tribulations, and feelings of defeat. But the vision for Tacos Doña Lena kept pushing through, he says, and the restaurant eventually held its soft opening in April 2020—at the height of the Covid-19 response. At the time, it was solely family running the joint—Cabrera jokes that he used to call it “playing restaurant.”

Despite the pandemic, the restaurant took off. In 2021, Tacos Doña Lena was named as one of Yelp’s Top 100 US Restaurants, which really put them on the map, Cabrera says.

Now, people from all over the city travel to Spring Branch to get a taste of what Tacos Doña Lena has to offer. Looking beyond the new restaurant, Cabrera has a lot on his mind that he’d like to bring to fruition, such as a fast-paced, fast-food, counter-service restaurant to supplement the two brick-and-mortars. Nothing is set in stone, he says—it’s simply one of the many ideas he has for the future.

With enough traffic and money generated through the original restaurant, Cabrera finally had the ability to pursue his real dream: buying his parents a house.

“My main goal was always to buy my parents a house, because we always grew up in apartments,” Cabrera says. “When I reflect back, it was a lot of stress, unknowns, and fear, but luckily, we put so much effort and thought into our craft, and I think people are able to see that and appreciate that.”