History

La Fuente Restaurant has a rich history that has been chronicled over the years by many newspaper reporters, magazine writers, and long standing La Fuente employees. When you visit La Fuente you will discover that the vestibule, the lobby and even the cocktail lounge offers many historical documents for you to enjoy.

We invite you to take a walk through our colorful history…

In 1913 Juanna and Refugio Huerta immigrated to this country from Mexico. In 1937 they opened a grocery store in an area of Tucson called Barrio Hollywood. About 1948 the Huerta family opened a drug store at the corner of North Grande Avenue and St. Mary’s Road. It was in late 1959 Juanna and Refugio along with their son, Joe Huerta, opened a bar at the corner of North Oracle and West Lester. Different historical accounts say the name of this bar was either the Top Hat Bar or the Black Hat Bar.

It was at Juanna’s insistence that the family start serving Mexican food to the bar patrons to encourage them to linger longer at the bar, and in October 1960, the bar was renamed La Fuente (the fountain). As the years went by, according to Frank “Paco” Davis (the Huerta’s grandson who worked in the business until 2004) it was Joe Huerta that encouraged the family to continue to enlarge the restaurant until it reached its current size of 11,000 square feet with room for 350 patrons. According to Davis, "My uncle believed in reinvesting in the restaurant to make it bigger and better and we've always stuck to that."

While La Fuente was a family owned and operated business, the family also hired many employees over the years to assure the business ran smoothly, with excellent customer service and food quality. For example, in 1963 Bernadine "Sami" Lietz was hired to be the hostess. “Sami” remained in this position until her retirement some 42 years later!

Beginning in the 1960’s La Fuente introduced nightly mariachi entertainment and this tradition continues to this day. And while patrons could enjoy the mariachis perform they often shared the dining room with famous movie stars and politicians.

Today’s guests may wonder aloud how could it be that La Fuente has hosted people such as: John Wayne, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Barbra Streisand (much of her 1976 A Star is Born was shot on location in Tucson), Robert Mitchum, Robert Wagner, Angie Dickinson, Clint Eastwood, Renne Russo, Kevin Costner, Joe Montana, Billy Martin, President John F. Kennedy, and both President George H. W. Bush and President George W. Bush (visited La Fuente when he was the Texas Governor)? This is a valid question.

If you are not a movie buff or familiar with Tucson’s connection with the movie industry, then you may not know that Tucson is home to the Old Tucson Studios and from 1939 to present time many movies and television shows have been shot on location here in Tucson. And yes, according to the Kennedy Presidential Library, the then Senator Kennedy gave an address at a Democratic Luncheon in Tucson on April 9, 1960. 

But movie stars, sport’s figures and presidents aside, it was in the 1970’s that Frank “Paco” Davis, after his college graduation, began working at La Fuente. It was at this time that the Huerta/Davis family decided to concentrate on making La Fuente a “destination restaurant” by reaching beyond their local guests to tourists and “snowbirds”. In the 1980’s the business community recognized that La Fuente could meet their needs for corporate functions, both in-house and with off-site catering. When Joe Huerta retired in 1988, Frank “Paco” Davis took over the day to day management of the restaurant and he continued to successfully manage the restaurant with his mother, Hope, and his wife, Sharon.

As La Fuente flourished as a respected authentic Mexican restaurant with nightly entertainment its current history began to be written in 1979 when a young 17 year old Carlos Portillo came to Tucson from Mexico and actually worked for two days as a dishwasher at the La Fuente Restaurant. By 2004, after gaining legal status in 1985, becoming an American citizen in 1989, owning and operating the La Palma Bakery from 1995 to 2000, and purchasing La Buena Mexican Foods (a tortilla factory) in 2000, it was in 2004 that Carlos Portillo finally had the opportunity to fulfill his dream to own a restaurant.

And so it was in the fall of 2004, Frank “Paco” Davis, at age 55, decided to finally sell the family’s La Fuente Restaurant and as he says, “It was hard to walk away from the family-owned business. But it softened the blow to sell the business to another Tucson family with similar history and values.”

Since 2004, Carlos Portillo has worked to maintain the essence of La Fuente. The Mexican fare continues to be the highest quality and as AAA notes “the atmosphere is colorful, the food is tasty and the champagne brunch is a treat.”  Carlos adds, “To be distinguished by AAA, Mobil Travel Guide, Frommer’s® and to be chosen as Best Mexican Food in Tucson by Citysearch Audiences makes all of our efforts worthwhile.

Today, Carlos Portillo along with his general manager, Alfonso Maldonado and his special events coordinator, Sandra Balbastro invite you to step in to their home, La Fuente, and enjoy their food, service and entertainment.