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We are proud to offer a menu that continues the old favorite family recipes of the Lopez family who first opened La Hacienda in 1940.

On May 4, 1598, the Conquistador and Gourmet Don Juan De Oñate (in, we would like to think, search of a great restaurant) crossed the Rio Grande at the location where La Hacienda now stands.  Although he was over 400 years too early to be able to take advantage of the the re-established La Hacienda, Don Juan recognized this spot as a great place to eat and drink.  He immediately set his cooks to the task of preparing the first mouth-watering meal for him and his 600 traveling companions.  Today you will find on our menu dishes that surely would have kept him from from feeling the need to travel north to Santa Fe and Taos.  After Don Juan, thousands more traveled the Camino Real (The Kings Road) to see if we were open.   While the presence (and perhaps as some believe the ghost) of Don Juan is still at La Hacienda, others have also influenced us.

It is often said that armies travel on their stomachs.   Over the years, numerous armies in search of the best places to eat have stopped at this Riverside location.  Col. Alexander Doniphan traveled here with his troops from Missouri in 1846.  The main structure of today's La Hacienda was built in 1850 by Simeon Hart for his bride Jesusita.  Simeon's political intrigues caused him to lose and regain La Hacienda a few times.  Eventually his son, Juan Hart, founder of the El Paso  Times, settled in, making it the social hot spot in El Paso.  The great location continued to draw military visitors as the California column arrived in 1862 and established a union army headquarters in 1881, Fort Bliss moved their whole base next door so that soldiers traveling to Arizona to fight in the Arizona Indian wars could get at least one good meal before moving on.  Unfortunately we were still not open.   After waiting for a number of years they eventually moved across town to be near a now defunct competitor.  Currently unable to find room closer to us, now that we are open, Fort Bliss is remaining at it's present location.

In the early 1900's Gen. John J. "BlackJack" Pershing was dispatched to pursue and capture the infamous Pancho Villa.  Pancho Villa before the days of the present Border Patrol, would sneak across the Rio with his men for a picnic and fine cigar at this spot.   Pershing and Villa colorfully represented the two forces at conflict during these revolutionary and turbulent times.  Pershing and Villa engaged in a few skirmishes but Villa deftly evaded capture.  Had the Pancho Villa Bar , in the back corner of La Hacienda, been open in 191 he could have enjoyed a fine smoke, a good drink, and great food while negotiating with the federales.  While Pancho was staging his men for raids id Juarez, the New York Times and Boston Globe used La Hacienda as their news bureau, sending reports from this building back east.  Politics, then as now have played a role in the life of La Hacienda.  Since 1940, when La Hacienda was first opened as a public restaurant, it has been a favorite spot of El Paso politicians.   That tradition continues today.  This political tradition is the reason why our lunch special is known as the City Hall Special.

Every great place has some lost or unclear history and La Hacienda is no exception.  Some say "Shady Ladies" were a popular attraction all through the southwest.  Who knows?  Perhaps the the famed Felena of Marty Robbins' country song "El Paso" dispensed her kisses in our own Rosas Cantina.  Is it possible that the swirl of her skirt and her flashing black eyes cast a wicked spell over many a helpless cowboy?  Just who was the mysterious Felena?   Was she fact, fiction or a passing fancy of Pancho's?  We may never know how many vaqueros would have willingly died in the fair Felena's arms under the starlit desert sky at La Hacienda.

For a less colorful historical interpretation visit the Don Juan De Oñate, El Paso Del Rio Norte crossing Memorial and the official Camino Real Monument on the grounds, or view the Texas Historical Commission Plaque in the main entrance. 

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