The Original Mexican Eats Café, a 94-year-old oasis of Tex-Mex history, has applied to build a small restaurant and drive-in in its former parking lot in west Fort Worth.

The Original, one of the oldest Tex-Mex restaurants in Texas, is seeking permission to build a narrow, diner-style stand and driveway in a parking lot at 4735 Camp Bowie Blvd., five houses west of where it served chili tacos and enchiladas for 93 years.

The restaurant moved to 1400 N. Main St. near the Stockyards in July 2023, but retained its parking spaces.

The original had lost a bitter legal battle that had lasted for years and which had rendered an old lease on the property invalid.

The application proposes a driveway along the eastern boundary of the property behind a restaurant, facing west and leading to a covered and planted terrace.

The original hint of a return to the site was when a legal notice about alcohol consumption was posted in the parking lot and printed in the Star-Telegram in June. The notice was revised on August 1.

The former premises were converted into retail stores.

Owner Robert Self did not respond to messages.

The restaurant is nationally known for chili con carne, retro Tex-Mex and its “Roosevelt Special” plate, named after the president’s son, Elliott Roosevelt, a former Fort Worth and Benbrook resident whose parents, First Lady Eleanor and President Franklin D. Roosevelt, often visited.

The North Main Street location is open for lunch and dinner every day except Monday. 817-761-1890originalmexcafe.com.