Category Archives: Food & Entertainment

SPI Restaurant ‘Off Beaten Path’ Thriving

The hula chicken sandwich with a grilled slice of pineapple reflects the years Lobo Del Mar's owners spent in Hawaii.

Ben Little describes his South Padre Island restaurant as being “a bit off the beaten path,” on the bay side a block off Padre Boulevard. Lobo Del Mar Café is on Palm Street at a spot adjacent to where the road ends before getting to the Laguna Madre. A recent visit to the restaurant on a late January weekday morning was busy, even during an off-season winter month when tourist…

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Couple Finds Balance With New Business

Teriyaki Madness in McAllen offers a variety of healthy bowls featuring chicken or steak with noodles and vegetables. (Courtesy)

Abraham Feliz travels all over the world monthly as a UPS cargo pilot flying 747 jets. McAllen is Feliz’s home base where he lives with his wife, Valerie, and their two young children. Feliz flies out the midpoint of every month from his home city on a UPS plane or a commercial jet to Louisville. From that Kentucky city, Feliz will help pilot UPS jets to Hawaii, then to Australia…

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Monterrey Natives Reach Goal In RGV

A crepe-oriented restaurant will be a new dining choice for RGV patrons when it opens early next year in McAllen. (Courtesy)

Enrique and Feve Zaragoza grew up in Monterrey with their favorite U.S. shopping destination being McAllen. The Rio Grande Valley, and McAllen in particular, has long been the favorite border spot for Mexican nationals residing in their nation’s ninth largest city. People from Monterrey, Enrique Zaragoza said, know McAllen offers the sort of retail and dining experiences Mexican consumers are looking for that’s close to home. “We’ve always liked the…

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Vegan Baker Finds Sweet Success In RGV

Vegan pastries look just as good and the taste rivals any to be found at panaderias.

Amanda Nolan grew up the daughter of a small business owner, a mother who set a template to follow. Sure enough, Nolan started young with an artsy bent in making trinkets and homemade jewelry popular with her classmates. It gave her the first indications of what it’s like to make your own money. “It was something I was around,” she said of the entrepreneurial spirit. “I followed the momentum.” The…

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Restaurateurs Build New Brand Across RGV

Lotzapan has opened four Schlotzsky's restaurants in the Rio Grande Valley in recent years as it establishes the brand across the region.

Laurie and Robert Lozano met at a Dairy Queen in what would be the beginning of a personal relationship and one that led to the world of business. They were fellow DQ employees in Premont, a little town along U.S. Highway 281, heading north to Alice from Falfurrias. At the time, Laurie was one of the younger DQ managers in the venerable ice cream-and-hamburger restaurant chain. Years later, and now…

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McAllen ISD STRIDES Wins TRA Award

(photo McAllen ISD Facebook)

The McAllen ISD STRIDES Program is the inaugural winner of the Texas Restaurant Association’s Innovation in Excellence Award. The award serves to recognize individuals, groups or organizations that have demonstrated a commitment to innovation and excellence in the field of culinary and hospitality education. According to TRA, the award is a “celebration of those who have dedicated themselves to improving the education experience for both students and teachers and demonstrated…

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Trading Tech World For Wine & SPI

Yolanda Feldstein gave up a successful career in tech to pursue her small business dreams on South Padre Island.

Yolanda Feldstein’s two decades-long career in the technology and computing industry largely met her career aspirations. She had risen to management positions at a large San Antonio tech firm. There were no real reasons to look elsewhere for work opportunities other than the leisurely thoughts that drifted into her mind during visits to South Padre Island. The Island is where her husband Zack proposed to her. It has always been…

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Being Patient & Creating Chocolate In Hidalgo

From bean to bar, there can be no rushing the in-between at Hidalgo’s Mozna Chocolate factory. Rosario Matulewicz and her team work meticulously at their craft in what was once a meat market. Today, large sacks of cacao beans from around the world stand near a grinder that whirls around the clock. It’s a days-long process. The beans will soon form into a thick batter-like substance to temper and mold…

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Brewing Up A Dream In McAllen

Howling Rabbits branding is on the beer glasses, the swinging kitchen door, the bathroom wallpaper and the outdoor patio mural.

Andrew Crowe enjoyed his first craft beer at Roosevelt’s at 7 on Main Street in McAllen. Crowe was a home brewer and envisioned partnering with a friend to someday open his own brewery. It could be a place where family and friends could gather. Crowe’s friend changed course and became a firefighter while Crowe went on to work at Roosevelt’s. He would eventually decide to apply for a two-year brewing…

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Wendy’s Opens In Mercedes

A new Wendy’s location held its grand opening May 5 in Mercedes with the Mercedes Area Chamber of Commerce and the Development Corporation of Mercedes. The new location is at 8001 E.  Expressway 83 on the northeast corner of Mile 2 E and Expressway 83.  Highlighting the grand opening celebration were music, prizes, and giveaways. The first 100 dine-in customers were awarded free Wendy’s for a year.  “We are thrilled…

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