Steven, Denise, Austin and Travis Brown never imagined they would own and manage a restaurant. In fact, Travis planned to become a detective, and his father, Steven, was in the construction industry.

However, when the previous owners of Los Gallos Taco House decided to close the restaurant during his sophomore year of high school, Travis said his family just could not let that happen.

None of them had worked in the restaurant industry before, but they learned the business quickly.

“We took over the business in the middle of the summer, so we ended up getting a lot of hands-on experience,” Travis said. “It was crazy.”

The restaurant has been in its current location at 974 Loop 337, New Braunfels, for 10 years, and it has been open for breakfast and lunch from the beginning. The Browns expanded operations by opening the Mexican eatery for dinner from Thursday-Saturday until 9 p.m.

“Now that we’re open for dinner, we’ve let our cooks get a hold of some of the ingredients that they want to work with. ... The chipotle sauce that they came up with is delicious,” Travis said.

For breakfast, he said the most popular menu items are the breakfast tacos—specifically the migas tacos—as well as omelets and pancakes.

Travis said people come from across the state to eat at Los Gallos and buy their salsa. He said customers love that they can get authentic Mexican food in a large quantity at a good price.

“That’s what we’re known for—good food and great prices,” Travis said.

Upon taking over the restaurant, the family was able to keep many of the same cooks and waitstaff who were at Los Gallos for years prior.

Steven said he has always told his sons “knowledge is key,” so they strive to continuously learn more about business, management and the restaurant industry as well as the city of New Braunfels.