At only nine years old, Carlos Rodriguez moved with his family to the United States. Coming from Veracruz, Mexico, moving to Oak Cliff was a major cultural change.
The Rodriguez Family. Photo courtesy of Carlos Rodriguez.
“We’re from a small town with 60 to 80 houses,” Rodriguez said. “I remember waking up and driving, coming from Houston, and I just remember seeing big highways and big buildings. And I was like ‘Whoa. Big change.’ So it was definitely an impact.”
Living in a few apartments in different locations within the Dallas neighborhood, the Rodriguez family truly found their roots in the house Carlos grew up in on Eighth Street. It was with that house that the family began dreaming up what would later become Cuates Kitchen, a brick-and-mortar restaurant now located in the Oak Lawn area.
Cuates, meaning twins, got the name from their hometown of Veracruz to represent not only Carlos but his sister Carla in their branding.
Originally the family business was aspiring to join the restaurant community in the space they grew up in, within the Bishop Arts district. The idea was to tear down their house that is now Little Blue Bistro and develop the home as a hot spot for community and Veracruz cooking.
However, parking and difficulties to zone properly was a concern for the family, he said.
“I think I was the first one that decided to leave, just because the whole parking situation was kind of a bummer on the weekends,” Rodriguez said. “And, I remember people were (often) blocking our driveway…so we needed to leave.”
Although the physical location of Cuates Kitchen itself is not in Oak Cliff as the family first hoped to be, Carlos and Carla’s parents sold their home to help fund the first venture. Growing up surrounded by the food industry, from family careers to first gigs in high school, they opened up their food truck in 2018.
From there the business blossomed, driving all around the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex for spots to stop and let the community come shop. And everywhere the truck went, loyal fans followed.
“People would drive to us, which kind of, like, it’s a good feeling, you kind of feel like, ‘wow, people actually care to drive because the food is really good,” he said.
Creating those little connections meant a lot to Carlos, and helped to support the business as the family’s product and love letter to Oak Cliff. Their food takes inspiration primarily from traditional Veracruz cooking that he grew up with, but from time to time will create specials that take more inspiration from the various types of cooking the family has done with other restaurants creating something new.
Today, Carlo’s parents live in Glen Oaks and now he raises his own children in Elderwood. The family continues to use their food as a celebration of not only their heritage, but the community and flavors they grew up with in Oak Cliff.
Cuates Kitchen is located at 3811 Fairmount St.
