Several days every week Sergio "Alex" Marini, owner of Marini's Empanada House in Cinco Ranch, makes an early morning drive to his sister's restaurant in Houston, also called Marini's. There, while he picks up a batch of freshly mixed dough, he talks with his parents Marcello and Pelusa, who are retired now—mostly.

For the last 10 years, Marini has continued the legacy begun by his parents, who moved to Texas from Argentina and opened the first Marini's Empanada House in 1971.

"My mom was always the one who cooked, but when you come here from another country, what do you do to survive," Marini said. "They started making empanadas."

The couple started by serving empanadas to their friends but when they moved to a second location—near Montrose and Westheimer—their empanadas became famous in the city. Their kids grew up helping out in the restaurant.

Now, 30 miles away and almost three decades later, at his own restaurant Marini gets a helping hand from his children, Alejandro, Sergio, Gabriela, and Marcello, and his wife, Gabriela.

"It's still a family operation," he said.

His parents were excited about his decision 10 yeas ago to open the restaurant. They had long talked about starting it up again, Marini said. They closed theirs in the late 1980s after a small fire and a lackluster attempt at relocating. Marini's efforts even encouraged his sister to open her own location at 10001 Westheimer Road in Houston in 2007.

"It's kind of a friendly competition between us," he said.

Right now he makes the drive to her place to pick up the dough. In the past, however, he made it at his location. Early morning traffic nearly has him convinced to bring that part of the operation back to his place.

Marini resurrected the family business after working for a hotel for 17 years. He figured that if he were going to put in 17-hour days, they ought to be for himself and his family.

"I grew up in it," he said. "I worked there after school and everything, so I always knew how to do it."

When Sergio was 8 or 9 years old, he would help out around the family restaurant, cleaning tables and doing other small tasks.

"I remember seeing the way my parents treated customers and employees," he said. "It's a people business."

It did not take much to introduce Katy area residents to empanadas. Fortunately for Marini, many people in the area are involved in the oil and gas industry and have traveled extensively in South America.

"Columbia, Chile, Peru—everybody has their own version of an empanada," Marini said.

Many of those same customers, however, felt the sting as oil companies laid people off in 2007 and 2008—just three years into the restaurant's operation. At the same time food costs jumped, he said.

"We struggled for a couple of years," Marini said. "But we were able to make it."

Marini said he has been in the same location for long enough to have deep connections in the community. Customers know his kids as well because, like Marini, they are such a visible presence in their family's restaurant.

"You just get to know people," he said.

"They come in here when they've just been married, or moved into town, or are pregnant. Then the next time they are carrying their babies."

In the fold

Alex Marini designed the menu in a way that allows the restaurant to use almost all of the ingredients he buys.

In Mexico an empanda is often filled with sweet fillings, like a pastry. In Argentina, however, it is most often savory. Fillings, such as beef gaucho, chicken diablo, ham and cheese, and spinach and cheese, are traditional.

On the menu

• More than 60 varieties of empanadas
• More than 70 types of bottled beer including some limited release brews
• Empanadas are cooked in 0 trans fat oil.
• At least 16 vegetarian empanadas
• At least 29 styles of dessert empanadas

3522 S. Mason Road, Ste. 100, Katy, 281-391-4237, www.theoriginalmarinisempanadahouse.com

Hours: Tue.–Thu. 11 a.m.–9 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Sun. 11 a..m.–9 p.m., Monday Closed