For nearly 65 years Spanish Village on Almeda Road has been a stalwart on the Tex-Mex scene in Houston. At an age when most humans are retiring, Spanish Village is making changes thanks to a new owner.

Armed with new management and a new chef the location just unveiled an ambitious brunch menu, the first in its history.

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New owner Abhi Sreerama, 26, purchased Spanish Village in February. The Medina family sold the restaurant to him, with the semi-retired John Medina sticking around as a consultant, as needed.

The energetic restaurant scene newbie grew up on Houston's northwest side and as a suburban kid remembers eating Tex-Mex sometimes once a week with his family. Coming from the tech world originally he got his first taste of Spanish Village when he moved to Midtown and ventured out of the neighborhood in search of something off the beaten path.

"Spanish Village's status as one of the original Tex-Mex restaurants is firmly cemented in history," Sreerama told Chron.com this week. "That's what attracted me to it in the first place."

What's been the biggest hurdle in taking over Spanish Village? Reassuring people that the changes will be positive.

"Every day I hear people say not to change anything, but the problem is that something did need to change. It needed a jump start," Sreerama said. "Part of that meant keeping the tried and true items, scrapping the items that weren't moving, making the old reliables even better."

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At one point there were 90 items on the menu and Sreerama and Chef Ishita Chakravarty have set out to whittle that number down to 55. Assuming control over an established menu and a generational following isn't easy. The old Houston charm of 4720 Almeda Road isn't going anywhere.

"We're not trying to take anything away that is already popular," Sreerama said. "But some things were being prepped and not ordered ever."

Chakravarty, formerly of Sinfull Bakery, got into Sreerama's orbit through her private catering business and he said that the two have hit it off creatively. Chakravarty's dessert background has given birth to the Churro Blondie Banana Split.

So far the response in the neighborhood, right between the Museum District and the Third Ward, has been comforting. He credits positive word of mouth on neighborhood bulletin website NextDoor for the new influx of business.

"There were new people coming by to eat, along with people that stopped coming years ago," Sreerama said. "We see some people two or three times a week."

Some well-worn dining institutions, according to Sreerama, raise prices with no thought of maintaining a standard benchmark of quality. They coast on legacy and history without innovation.

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"Prices have been adjusted since I took over," he said.

Sunday brunch, running from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., seemed like a good way to expand Spanish Village for a new, youthful audience."

The word is out on Sabbath busters like elotes kolaches (Shipley, take notes), breakfast enchiladas (a gateway to naptown), marranito pancakes, Eggs Benito (with a seared jalapeno cheddar masa cake), and Tres Leches French Toast. Pitchers of sangria and mimosas are a given.

"The brunch menu, the idea behind it, is that it can evolve and change as we tinker with it," Sreerama said. He thinks that in Tex-Mex cuisine there should be room for creativity and wiggle room, at least to a point.

"To attempt to change the style of cuisine at Spanish Village would be near sacrilege," he said. "But with all of the influences floating around Houston we can be innovative. We want to keep the comfort foods around while also adding new things to the mix and push the genre along."

Craig Hlavaty covers Houston history and pop-culture. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com. | craig.hlavaty@chron.com