The Tuesday slaying of Las Palapas founder Ron Acosta has sent waves of shock and grief across the San Antonio restaurant community and beyond.
Drew Glick, owner of Max & Louie’s New York Diner, learned of Acosta’s fatal stabbing while vacationing in London, his mobile phone blowing up with messages and calls.
“I am shocked and sad,” Glick said via text from an airplane. “He was a good friend and will be missed.”
A housekeeper discovered Acosta, 78, bleeding in his home in Stone Oak and called 911 to report an assault. Police arrested Acosta’s nephew David Ruiz. He was charged with murder.
According to a family member, Ruiz, 39, had been experiencing a mental health crisis.
Acosta founded Las Palapas in 1981 on West Avenue near Churchill High School and expanded to multiple locations across the city and state. Known for its tacos and Tex-Mex, Las Palapas closed on Sundays to allow employees time to worship and spend time with their families.
The Acosta family owned the popular restaurant chain until Wayne Detmar, a franchise owner, bought majority interest in 2020.
Family parallels
The slaying stirred painful memories for Louis Barrios, president of Los Barrios Family Restaurants. His mother, Viola Barrios, 76, the founder of Los Barrios, was slain in 2008.
“It’s kind of like pulling back a scab,” Louis Barrios said. “My mom was murdered. Ron was murdered. I’m having a different experience. Mom was my mom. Ron was my friend. I kind of feel like other people felt when they heard my mom died. Oh my gosh, this is so close to home.”
Seventeen years ago, a neighbor, Joey Estrada, broke into Viola’s Northside home and shot her in the head with an arrow as she slept. Estrada stole Viola’s credit cards and Mercedes and set her bedroom on fire. Estrada was convicted in 2010 and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Viola bought an old Dairy Queen on Blanco Road in 1980 and converted it into Los Barrios. One year later, Acosta opened the original Las Palapas. In 2021, the chain expanded to Keller in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, converting an old Dairy Queen into Las Palapas.
Barrios recognized business parallels. “That is so cool,” he said.
Acosta and Louis Barrios enjoyed a longtime friendship. The latter often called the former when raising money for a charity.
“I would call and say, ‘Ron, I need money for this fundraiser,’” Barrios said. “And he would help. He never said ‘no.’ Ron was a cheerful giver.”
In 1999, Acosta and his late wife, Elssy Acosta, launched the Jireh Foundation to support widows and children after the death of a spouse. According to Elssy’s obituary in 2010, the inspiration came from a verse in the book of James: “True and pure religion is to help orphans and widows in their time of need.”
The foundation has since supported widows and children in San Antonio, Mexico and in Central and South America.
After Viola’s death, Louis and his sisters, Diana Barrios-Trevino and Theresa Barrios-Ogden, started a nonprofit, Viola’s Huge Heart Foundation, that awards scholarships to students from low-income families.
What we know so far
Acosta’s nephew, David Ruiz, had been experiencing a sudden and severe mental health crisis in the days leading up to the attack, according to his father, James Ruiz, who spoke with the San Antonio Report on Wednesday.
“It was very rapid,” said Ruiz, who is Ron’s brother-in-law. ”One week. Literally one week, we went from point A to Z.”
The suspect lived with his father in Whittier, Calif., and had not previously shown signs of instability. But last week, James Ruiz said, David began exhibiting intense paranoia, making wild accusations and expressing a desire to obtain a weapon.
“I personally was fearful of my own life,” he said.
He said David’s girlfriend reached out to a local crisis center, which sent someone to the Ruiz home, but David declined to speak with them. When the father contacted police, he was told there was little they could do unless David posed an immediate threat.
Despite growing concern, James said he began to fear his son might harm himself — but never imagined he would hurt someone else.
David Ruiz left California and drove to San Antonio at the invitation of a family member. According to the arrest affidavit, a family group chat confirmed that Ron invited David to come stay at his house, with plans to meet with other family members.
At around 11 a.m. Tuesday, police received a call from the Acosta housekeeper, stating she had witnessed someone attacking her boss and fleeing the scene.
Acosta’s son identified the suspect as his cousin. A vehicle description and information on the suspect was provided to the San Antonio Police Department.
Deputies in Kimble County spotted the suspect’s vehicle a few hours after the murder and detained him.
James Ruiz said his son was close to his two young children and had shown no history of violence. He now fears something more serious may have gone undiagnosed.
“I just hope they are checking him out medically to determine what happened,” he said. “Why the snap? Why go from point A to Z in that short period of time? It’s mind-boggling.”
Though he hadn’t seen his brother-in-law in several years, James Ruiz described Acosta as a generous man and a pillar of the community.
“He was a philanthropist, quite successful,” he said. “Very generous. I know he was donating money for widows and orphans. That was his wife’s thing, and he carried it on.”
Elssy Acosta died in 2010. The couple had four children.
David Ruiz remains in custody and is expected to be extradited to Bexar County.
Closed on Sundays
Acosta’s impact on his community and the restaurant industry was felt across the state. Las Palapas has locations in Austin, Boerne, New Braunfels and College Station.
“He was a respected businessman, devoted family man and a proud member of the San Antonio community,” the Texas Restaurant Association said in a statement. “What began as one restaurant grew to 20, all built with the goal of being easily accessible to the community he loved.
“Despite his success, Mr. Acosta never hesitated to give back, supporting countless charities and causes across San Antonio. He will be remembered not only for his business leadership but for his generosity and heart.”
Acosta’s faith made an impression on many.
“A lot of our members knew him and liked him,” said Alan Williams, founder of San Antonio Restaurants, which operates a Facebook group with nearly 305,000 members. “The restaurant was closed on Sundays. Ron was a man of faith. He wanted his employees to be able to go to church. That’s outstanding. Nobody was doing that. Restaurant margins are so slim. They typically need every dollar they can get. So for him to close on Sundays was really impressive.”
Brent Johnson, 66, grabs a bite at Las Palapas with his wife, Rosanne, and brother, Stan, every time they visit San Antonio.
“If we’re in town four days, we’re at Las Palapas three days,” said Johnson, a San Antonio native who moved to Irving to open Rio Mambo, a small chain of Tex-Mex restaurants that he sold in 2023.
“Stan and I sometimes go twice a day. We go for breakfast and we go late at night. Their tortillas are so authentic. My tortillas were good, but they weren’t San Antonio tortillas.”
Chef, caterer and entrepreneur Johnny Hernandez also enjoyed Las Palapas.
“Loved their tortilla soup,” he said. “Ron and I were involved in the restaurant association. He was a kind man, a godly man who insisted that his restaurants be closed on Sundays. He reminded me of my dad.”
