Felix Stehling

'Felix Martinez (April 2, 1927 – December 10, 2012) was an American businessman and restaurateur. Stehling and his brother, Mike Stehling, co-founded Taco Cabana, fast food restaurant chain specializing in Tex-Mex cuisine, in 1978. Stehling is also credited as the inventor of the beanburger, a now common dish in the San Antonio area, consisting of refried beans, Fritos and Cheez Whiz.

Stehling's parents settled Stehling was born in Fredericksburg, Texas, the second oldest of his family's eleven children. He graduated from St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas.

Stehling initially worked in for an insurance company, but left that insurance industry after just two years. He then owned and operated series of restaurants and nightclubs in San Antonio, including the Crystal Pistol and the Bombay Bicycle Club. In 1952, signed a three-year lease to rent a small, shack-like restaurant on Austin Highway from Frank Sills, the owner of the first Sills' Snack Shack. It was here that Stehling invented and first offered the beanburger, made from refried beans, Fritos and Cheez Whiz. Frank Sills later sold Stehling's beanburger creation at his own restaurants once Stehling's lease on the building expired.

In 1978, Stehling and his brother, Mike, opened the first Taco Cabana in San Antonio at the intersection of Hildebrand and San Pedro streets at the site of a former Dairy Queen, dubbing the restaurant "the original Mexican patio café" Felix Stehling's wife, Billie Jo Stehling, created the décor and overall interior look for the restaurant chain. Mike Stehling later left the company.

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