Ninfa’s, the Houston restaurant founded by Ninfa Laurenzo, helped popularize fajitas in the United States.
Laurenzo opened the original Ninfa’s on Navigation Boulevard in Houston in 1973. The restaurant became closely associated with serving grilled skirt steak with tortillas and accompaniments, helping introduce that presentation to a much wider American audience.
Fajitas existed before Ninfa’s and were connected to Mexican and South Texas ranch cooking. The restaurant therefore is best described as a major popularizer rather than the unquestioned inventor of fajitas.
Ninfa’s also became known for its colorful founder and its role in Houston’s restaurant history. The name refers to the restaurant brand, not to a generic style of taco or a particular cut of beef.