A tear falls as owner Juan Contreras poses for a photo at Cafeteria y Loncheria El Padrino in Dallas, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. The Oak Cliff restaurant will close at the end of this year after 36 years.
Juan Figueroa/The Dallas Morning News
Tears stream down Juan Contreras’ face while he clutches a napkin tightly in his hands. He cannot hold back his tears as he talks about the upcoming closure of El Padrino, the restaurant that fed thousands of people in Oak Cliff for 36 years and will now close at the end of 2026 when its lease ends.
“This isn’t just my restaurant. It was my dream and my whole life,” Contreras told The News. “But I’m still hoping for a miracle.”
Cafeteria y Loncheria El Padrino is a small restaurant at 408 W. Jefferson Blvd. in Oak Cliff, three blocks from the Bishop Arts area. With just five tables that can seat about 20 people, the restaurant serves Mexican dishes at affordable prices. Customers can get a meat plate, enchiladas or chiles rellenos for $13, tortas for $8.50 or tacos starting at $2.50, all served with homemade tortillas.
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(From left) Owner Juan Contreras and partner, Ofelia Macías, cook at Cafeteria y Loncheria El Padrino in Dallas, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. The Oak Cliff restaurant will close at the end of this year after 36 years.
Juan Figueroa/The Dallas Morning News
Contreras plans to close El Padrino on Dec. 21, after the sale of the property and new lease terms made it impossible for him to continue the business.
“Honestly, it’s not a surprise,” said Juan Carlos Contreras, Contreras’ son, in an Instagram post. “With Bishop Arts and all the development interest around it, something was bound to happen eventually.”
In addition to a rent increase, requirements including broader insurance coverage and other lease clauses left Juan Contreras with little room to maneuver. The new landlords eventually gave him until the end of 2026 to vacate the space.
Pawn TX, Inc., a subsidiary of Fort Worth-based First Cash Holdings, Inc., is listed as the landlord. The News requested a statement about the situation from First Cash Real Estate but did not receive a response.
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Jefferson Blvd. seen as owner Juan Contreras (sitting) poses for a photo with partner, Ofelia Macías (left), and daughter, Anabel Contreras, at Cafeteria y Loncheria El Padrino in Dallas, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. The Oak Cliff restaurant will close at the end of this year after 36 years.
Juan Figueroa/The Dallas Morning News
For Contreras, closing El Padrino means much more than losing a business. It means leaving behind a dream, the place where he built a life for his family and his source of income. He spent all the savings he had set aside for retirement during the pandemic to pay his employees while the restaurant was closed.
“I thought I’d have time to recover, but I don’t think that’s going to be possible anymore,” said Contreras, who is 67. “I’m still in shock. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
A business built over decades
For nearly 37 years, Juan Contreras opened the doors of El Padrino following a routine he knows by heart: getting up early, preparing the ingredients, cooking and welcoming the customers who have made this Mexican restaurant in Dallas part of their lives. That routine is about to end.
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“I feel emotionally very sad because it’s part of my life. My daily life, my way of cooking, spending time with my customers, coming in every morning to open my business,” Contreras said. “I wasn’t prepared for this.”
Enchiladas served at Cafeteria y Loncheria El Padrino in Dallas, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. The Oak Cliff restaurant will close at the end of this year after 36 years.
Juan Figueroa/The Dallas Morning News
His dream began with no money. In 1989, to open the restaurant, he borrowed $300 to buy supplies and start cooking in that space. His first customers criticized his food, but instead of taking offense, he explained that he had just opened and asked them for advice on how to improve. Those same customers ended up ordering more food that night.
Over the years, El Padrino moved a few times and the Contreras family even opened a second restaurant, in Bishop Arts. That second restaurant, at 1215 S. Buckner Blvd. in Pleasant Grove since 2013, is operated by Juan Carlos Contreras.
Juan Contreras is saddened not only by the loss of his business, but also by all the ties he will leave behind with his customers and community. He has plenty of stories about customers who came in as children and are now parents, or about people he has supported when they got sick or through the grief of losing someone.
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Ofelia Macías prepares corn tortillas at Cafeteria y Loncheria El Padrino in Dallas, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. The Oak Cliff restaurant will close at the end of this year after 36 years.
Juan Figueroa/The Dallas Morning News
He is also concerned about his employees, some of whom have been working with him for 25, 18 or 10 years.
“It’s very difficult. But I’m alive, I’m healthy,” Contreras said, “and I have hope that something is going to happen. I don’t know why, but I feel something good could come for all of us.”
El Padrino is at 408 W. Jefferson Blvd., Dallas. Instagram El Padrino.
