El Chico is a restaurant chain in the Southern United States.

The restaurant's origin was Adelaida "Mama" Cuellar's popular homemade tamales at a county fair in 1926.

[2] Introducing Mexican food to America was not El Chico's only notable feat: It was also one of the early chain restaurants, with multiple locations at a time when mom-and-pop single-location restaurants ruled.

[2] Joe V. Carvajal was an integral part of the success of many of the El Chico restaurants in the 1960s and '70s.

Today, El Chico is part of Consolidated Restaurant Operations, Inc. (CRO)[4]