From a young age Esgar and Luis Vasquez, along with their sister Estefany Flores, began working in the food industry. Their mother, Maria Torres, made and sold food in Mexico prior to moving to the Dallas area 25 years ago, Esgar said. In 2000, Torres became the owner of a restaurant located on East Louisiana Street in downtown McKinney. She renamed the restaurant Cookie’s Mexican Food, after her Spanish nickname Cuca. Americans could not pronounce Cuca and instead called her Cookie, Esgar said. “I told my mom, ‘Just put the same [name customers call] you—Cookie. Everybody knows you by Cookie,’” Esgar said. “… But that’s not a restaurant name. Well, now it is.” Torres and her family revamped the menu in 2000 to offer authentic Mexican food, Esgar said. Menu items at Cookie’s include tortas; tacos; enchiladas; burritos; gorditas; quesadillas; and plato birria, or lamb plates. Cookie’s also offers breakfast from 7-11 a.m. and chicken-fried steak on Wednesdays. “What makes our [restaurant] unique is definitely … our food because there’s nowhere in McKinney where you’re going to find food like this. Nowhere,” Flores said. “You may find it similar, but it’s not going to be as good as ours.” At Cookie’s, meals are handmade, and tortilla chips are made to order. In addition to authentic Mexican dishes, Cookie’s is known for its involvement in the community. Every year Torres and her family spend Thanksgiving with their customers by providing a free meal to those in need or those who do not have anyone to spend the holiday with. “We’re really family-oriented. Even with our customers,” Flores said. “A lot of our customers are like family.”