Business Spotlight
ANGELINA’S DON LOUIS COMING, COMING, HERE! by Diane M. Ciarloni
I
sabel Velez and husband, Louis, are members of a family that oozes at the seams with entrepreneurial success.
Their story began nearly 40 years ago
when namesake Angelina, Louis’ mother, took the initial step toward fulfilling her
dream of a quality restaurant chain with a menu of her personal recipes. Her
delicious Mexican dishes were first offered in The Colony, shifting her dream almost
ago. Then, in the summer of 2019, a fairytale began unfolding for them at 101 Baize Blvd. in Hickory Creek. They visited with Hickory Creek city officials as well as the Small Business Development Center in Corinth. The result was a $200,000 land credit used with a $3.4-million project loan for a new, two-story, 8,500-square foot restaurant with beautiful amenities and plenty of
immediately to fast- forward.
client-pleasing extras.
She expanded, buying two acres for a
A spacious, upstairs patio overlooks Hickory Creek’s expanding vistas. An elevator makes it easy to skip the stairs. An expanded menu caters to a broad variety of taste bud preferences, including spinach quesadillas and more for non-meat eaters. And, of course, Angelina’s award-winning margaritas are readily available wherever you are in the restaurant! The Corinth location, far from being abandoned, is already changing to a comfort food venue named Pop’s Kitchen, still owned by Louis and Isabel.
310-seat capacity location. While that was happening, she opened restaurants in
Flower Mound and Lewisville. Incredibly, all the restaurants flourished.
Angelina gave the Flower Mound site to her daughter and son-in-law, Tina
and Arturo Vargas. They changed the
name to Cristina’s, though they still
serve classic Mexican food and now have 14 current locations.
The Lewisville (Main Street) location was
given to Angelina’s eldest son Louis Jr. He
and wife Isabel, a dynamic entrepreneurial spirit who fit smoothly into the family, kept the parking lot filled while simultaneously opening a location in Corinth 13 years
Heavy rains last winter and COVID-19 delayed completion of Angelina’s Hickory Creek debut, but it’s now safe to say the mouth-watering can begin within the next 90 days.
ANGELINA’S DON LOUIS | www.angelinastexas.com | 101 Baize Blvd. • Hickory Creek, TX www.LakeCitiesLiving.com
SEPTEMBER 2020 | LAKE CITIES LIVING | 19
