Seasoned Restaurateurs Celebrate One-Year Anniversary of Their Expanded Brand

Upon the success of their first restaurant, Red River BBQ in League City, brothers Kevin and Ric Keish, with the collaboration of Concept Leader Jim Molina, decided to open another restaurant. Red River Cantina was a Tex-Mex concept the three amigos had been contemplating for years in homage to their common familial Mexican heritage. But the ties that bound the three men didn’t end there. Molina was born and raised in League City, and the brothers’ lineage goes back more than a hundred years ago when their great grandmother, Maximina “Momie” Groce and her husband Leonard Groce settled in League City after fleeing Guadalajara, Mexico. The brothers grew up enjoying the recipes handed down by Momie and other family members and together with Molina, they came up with recipes in their test kitchen for more than two years to create the new cantina’s menu.

Utilizing space on the expansive property where the original Red River BBQ first opened their doors more than 19 years ago, in Feb 2019, they built a new freestanding building, moved the BBQ restaurant to the new space and completely gutted the old restaurant. Working with a premiere architect, they designed the new restaurant to reflect the cultural and culinary experiences found throughout Texas and Mexico. From the adobe-style building to the traditional Mexican ceramic tiles on the floor, murals along the walls and the open tortillaria area showcasing the fresh tortillas as they are being made, the restaurant’s ambience blends traditional Mexican décor with a modern Texas flair.

Molina is particularly proud of the restaurant’s bar area. “We wanted the bar to energize and enhance the vibe/atmosphere of the restaurant and we wanted it to be a show stopper producing a ‘wow’ effect as soon as guests walk in the door. Our bar area has close to 40 seats around the bar plus four islands and four booths with 10 HDTVs surrounding it, making it a great place to catch any game,” Molina said, “and every cocktail is handcrafted with fresh ingredients and garnishes.”

With their expansive tequila selections and specialty drinks such as the Hornitos Black Barrel Margarita, Red River has become known for their high standards and top quality ingredients in all areas of the restaurant. They are particularly persnickety about the quality of meat they use in their fajitas as well. And although the ambience and quality standards qualify them for high-end restaurant status, their prices won’t break the bank, especially on Wednesdays when they offer half-off fajitas for two starting at 4:30 p.m., or during lunch Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. when they feature daily lunch specials.

“We only buy the absolute best quality skirt steak available for our fajitas. Outside skirt packed by ‘1855’ to be exact, which has to meet more criteria than regular choice skirt steak. We have complete control on the age of the skirt and how it is trimmed, marinated and grilled. We grill our fajitas medium rare to medium and the end product has filet mignon tenderness with great Tex-Mex flavor,” Molina said.