When Beto, Roberto, and Teresa Gonzalez saved an abandoned home in their Laredo neighborhood and turned it into the Laredo Mansion bed-and-breakfast in 2019, they were onto something. Here are six other downtown restoration projects bringing new life to the area.
Cafe Radical
1020 Main Ave
The owners of Dosis Coffee, Laredo’s first coffee roastery, opened a breakfast and lunch spot earlier this year in a charming bungalow.
Casa Lopez Tapas Bar
2002 Hidalgo
Tucked inside a brick former warehouse, this Spanish restaurant features live flamenco and delicious sangria.
Cultura Beer Garden
916 Salinas Ave
At this craft-beer hot spot, a sign reads, “I Love You Chingos,” a Tejano riff on Austin’s oft-Instagrammed “I Love You So Much” mural. It’s all part of the millennial makeover of this house with a grand four-columned veranda.
Kaitod Thai Kitchen
815 Salinas Ave
The duo behind Laredo’s only Thai food eatery recently transitioned out of their popular food truck and into a corner of the multistory Hamilton building.
¿Quien Sabe? Art Gallery
1106 Lincoln
This unassuming bastion of underground art, which hosts DJs and pop-up exhibits, is located in the heart of the city’s nightlife district.
Villa Antigua Border Heritage Museum
810 Zaragoza
The Webb County Heritage Foundation fought hard to acquire this Italianate-style home. “Everyone screamed that we were crazy and it should be knocked down,” said executive director Margarita Araiza. It now celebrates Laredo history and culture.
This article originally appeared in the November 2022 issue of Texas Monthly as a sidebar for the story “A Crown Jewel of Laredo.” Subscribe today.
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