Mexican restaurant chain Fajita Pete's coming to Ross

The deal is sealed to bring what its owners call authentic Tex-Mex cuisine to the Pittsburgh area.

Houston-based restaurant chain Fajita Pete’s has announced an agreement with husband and wife business developers Chris and Brittny Mabry of Pittsburgh to bring “fresh off the grill” fajitas to The Block Northway in Ross Township with plans in place for three other restaurants in the area.

While the idea of authentic Tex-Mex food becoming available will make some folks jump for joy, others will be left scratching their heads and wondering what Tex-Mex is.

“The best way to describe Tex-Mex is a cultural mix of Texas style Mexican food — fajitas and frozen margaritas, refried beans, the style of rice and the style of protein, that’s really what separates Tex-Mex from Baja Mexican food or other styles,” Brittny Mabry said. “It’s a different Mexican food profile. It can be spicy. It’s definitely jalapeno-based but it can be dialed back or escalated as people prefer.”

Mabry, who was born in Texas, moved to Pittsburgh and graduated from Fox Chapel High School in 2005, said while Pittsburgh has great Italian food, pierogies and other things, Tex-Mex style food is something that’s always been missing.

After living in Houston, she and her husband moved to Pittsburgh last year with their 3-year-old son Marshall. But that wasn’t the only beloved thing they wanted to bring with them.

“We wanted to bring that flavor that we would be missing from Texas and bring Fajita Pete’s here,” Brittny said. “We love Fajita Pete’s. It’s a great franchise that we ate at often in Houston and we just wanted to share that with home. We felt like it would be very successful here.”

If everything goes according to plan, they won’t have to wait long to find out. Chris Mabry, a lifelong Texas-born Penguins fan who loves Pittsburgh, they will open their first location in Ross in August.

“It’s pretty special to me. I hold it very close to my heart,” the petroleum geologist said. “It’s something I definitely grew up with, being born and raised in Houston, Texas. The Mexican food, especially Tex Mex was very prevalent. Fajitas, really, are any grilled meat served with grilled onions and peppers and in a flour and/or corn tortillas. It started out of south Texas in the early 1800s whenever Mexico and Texas were kind of spilling over into each other.

“It’s very select ingredients, heavy on the protein — chicken, beef, shrimp — we have a veggie option on there. It’s heavily revolved around the protein and being able to bring something substantial to the table for your family.”

The Mabrys say much of their business will involve takeout, delivery and catering, but their 1,900-hundred-square-foot-restaurant will offer seating for at least 30 people inside and include margaritas, beer and select tequilas. Hours will be 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

They said their next location will be in the South Hills area.