The road once known as Austin’s Mexican Boulevard is losing another longtime resident. Little Mexico will close at the end of February after 34 years at the location.
Rosa Martinez opened this cozy restaurant at 2304 South First Street in 1994, serving Tex-Mex and upcountry cuisine. She opened her first restaurant in North Austin in 1986 and moved it five years later to South First Street just south of Althoff Road before placing the restaurant on land she purchased in 1992.
“I’m happy, but also a little sad,” Martinez, a native of Monterrey, Mexico, said Tuesday, fighting back tears as she met with several tables of regulars. “These guys are like family.”
The restaurant is one of the stalwarts keeping the old South Austin spirit alive on a street that has undergone massive development in the past decade. The road was once home to Jovita’s, La Mexicana Bakery (closed in 2022) and El Mercado (closed in 2025).
Little Mexico is closing after more than 30 years on South First Street. (Matthew Odan/American-Statesman)
In addition to serving diners tacos, migas, pork adobo and more for decades, Little Mexico has also been a music and community center, hosting meetings of the Tejano Music Alliance and live performances by bands like Susan Torres y Conjunto Clemencia and Conjunto Los Pinky’s over the years.
Martinez will retire from the restaurant business but will not sell the land (the Travis County Appraisal District assessed value is about $3 million). She has leased the property to a new tenant who has not yet been named.
Little Mexico’s last day of operation will be February 28th.
Martinez’s family posted a message on Facebook thanking their longtime customer and restaurant matriarch for her decades of dedication, “As Rosa enters its next chapter, we express our deep gratitude to our loyal customers and every team member who has helped grow Little Mexico into what it is today. Your hard work, care and pride will always be remembered.”
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