Leal’s Mexican Restaurant is a staple throughout the South Plains, but the one in Muleshoe is the original location. It’s been around since 1957 and is separated into the restaurant and tortilla factory.

“It kind of started off pretty simply as a tortilla factory, and they sold barbacoa and menudo and those kinds of things. Little by little it grew and graduated into more of a full-service restaurant, and so the tortilla factory and the restaurant operation kind of separated after some time,” says Sergio Leal, Owner of Leal’s Tortilla Factory Inc. 

It’s the Leal family legacy that spans across the South Plains. 

“My brothers and sisters are in the restaurant business and I had more of an interest in the tortilla business,” Sergio says. “That’s been a neat thing to witness…for it to grow within the family and there is an interest with even my kiddos to keep carrying on the name. It’s been a real joy to see it flower out.”

It all started with Sergio’s parents, Jesse and Irma Leal, when they moved to Muleshoe in the mid 1950s. They saw a need for a tortilla factory, something Irma had a background in after growing up around her father’s tortilla business.

“What we do here at Leal’s Tortilla Factory is we make our corn tortilla products and we make flour tortillas. We also make chips for our retail business,” Sergio says. “Our chips and hot sauce don’t have any preservatives in them.”

The Leal’s use locally grown corn, which is their way of supporting the local community, something they take pride in.
 
“It’s been a great community to grow up in, and a great community to have a business in,” Sergio says.
 
“Sometimes there’s a lot more pressure whenever you work with family, but it’s amazing. We’re all very well connected and we’re supportive of each other,” says Libby Leal, Assistant General Manager of Leal’s Restaurant. “I’ve already got my kids up here working. My oldest daughter’s going to work here for the summer, so 4th generation is coming in and starting to work,” she adds.