WACO, Texas — For Honorio Conchas, food is about more than what is served on a plate. It's about family, culture, and building something of his own in the community he calls home.
Conchas owns Sagrado Cocina, a restaurant in downtown Waco where many of the recipes trace back to meals his family made while he was growing up.
“We never thought that it would be possible until we decided to pursue our own dream, our own dream,” Conchas said.
That dream is rooted deeply in his Latino background.
“We grew up cooking, you know, those recipes that my grandma used to teach us back at home,” Conchas said. “We brought them to the table and that's what we serve people.”
He believes that connection to family and tradition is part of what separates Sagrado from larger restaurant chains.
“I feel like that's one of the main things that people like,” he said. “That our food is more homestyle than a franchise style.”
A business built around community
For Conchas, opening Sagrado has also given him an opportunity to contribute to Waco beyond the restaurant's kitchen.
“We are part of this community. We are neighbors,” Conchas said. “We believe in our employees and we also think that by creating Sagrado, we created new jobs and new opportunities for every single family that works for us.”
Now, Conchas is reflecting on another milestone he believes carries significance for Hispanic Texans: the election of Gina Hinojosa as governor.
Unofficial results posted by the Texas Secretary of State show Hinojosa received 5,230,789 votes in the Nov. 3 gubernatorial election, compared with 4,524,527 for incumbent Greg Abbott, with 100% of polling locations reporting.
For Conchas, seeing Hispanic representation at the state's highest level of government carries a personal meaning.
“We take pride of what we do, and we're proud and happy, you know, that we have somebody that represents us from our own skin,” Conchas said.
He hopes the milestone goes beyond representation and results in meaningful change for Hispanic communities across Texas.
“We wanna make sure that they fully take responsibility on what they're doing and hopefully they make a change because Hispanic people need it,” Conchas said.
For a Waco entrepreneur whose own story began with family recipes and the decision to chase a dream, the moment represents what he sees as another example of possibilities opening for the next generation.
This story was reported on air by Alexa Conroy and converted to a digital format with the assistance of AI.
