Shanghai Express

Tiffany and Leo Ponce have Chinese food to thank for their introduction they said.

The Ponces, who have been married almost 18 years, met when they were both working at Peking Palace, a Round Rock Chinese restaurant, in 1997. Tiffany, a military dependent living at Fort Hood, was a waitress, and Leo was working as the chef.

Leo moved to the United States from Querétaro, Mexico, in 1994 and got his start in the restaurant industry shortly after.

“[Leo] started working as a dishwasher in a Chinese restaurant when he was a teenager and then just eventually learned how to cook,” Tiffany said.

The couple opened Shanghai Express in October 2002 with the hope of bringing an authentic and family-oriented Chinese restaurant to Georgetown.

“[Leo] just decided to save and save and save [his money]and do this for himself,” Tiffany said.

However, it is not just Tiffany and Leo that make Shanghai a family-run business. Four other members of the family work there as well, she said.

Shanghai has 15 employees, including two of Leo’s brothers who serve as chefs, and a cousin who works as the deep fryer. Tiffany and Leo’s 17-year-old son Devon waits tables at the restaurant, she said.