In the 1940s, young Irma Gonz?lez Galvan moved with her family from Brownsville, Texas to Houston?s Second Ward. As children, Irma?s brothers shined shoes, while Irma and her sister worked at their school cafeteria and neighboring bakeries in order to help their mother. These early experiences, combined with later work in retail, and the desire to overcome personal tragedy, culminated in Galvan?s 1989 opening of her own Mexican restaurant, Irma?s.

The success of Irma?s, particularly being named an America?s Classic by the James Beard Foundation in 2008, has brought Galvan much attention in the form of articles and interviews.

Click here to read this interview about Irma written by Sandra Davidson.