“You are always on my mind” is a fitting theme for Lou’s Brunch & Brews in McAllen. Jose Garcia, who owns the restaurant with his wife, Iesha, chose the name to honor his mom, Guadalupe Garcia. Jose’s dad, Tim Garcia, affectionately calls her “Lou.” “I want to be reminded of her every day,” Jose said. His mother epitomizes strength and courage as she is currently undergoing cancer treatments for the…
Joe Garcia leans out of his Casa de Hibachi food truck to talk cuisine. “We did research, at first watching more for amusement, but then we figured let’s do this,” Garcia said of he and his partner Ray Cano. “Let’s add our twist to it, cilantro, limes, the things from our culture. So that’s what we’ve got, a fusion.” The mixing of Japanese and Mexican food cultures is just one…
The intersection of 2nd Street and FM 491 for decades is where Mercedes residents and commuting Rio Grande Valley motorists could find the Ten-Ten Grocery Store. The beloved store that sold comic books, pickles and fishing bait closed in 2013. There’s a new business rising on the very spot where the Ten-Ten stood. It’s a Sonic Crush Drive-In. Community and business leaders gathered for a ground-breaking ceremony to celebrate the…
The Texas Restaurant Association and Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission have launched a new effort to promote TABC’s certification course on alcohol delivery safety. The Texas Responsible Alcohol Delivery Course shares with delivery drivers and foodservice establishment operators the necessary information to safely conduct alcohol-to-go deliveries. The TRA has added the course to its catalog of training resources available for members across the state. The course is for persons who deliver…
Manuel Alvarez describes himself as a persistent sort, who once putting his mind to something is not easily deterred. Those personal attributes were put to the test when Alvarez took on the challenge of being a baker of detail-heavy Japanese cotton cheesecakes. With the help of his wife Nadia Escalante, Alvarez would “start a business out of nowhere.” Rio Grande Valley communities are dotted with pan dulce shops and long-standing…
It’s a February afternoon that’s warm and sunny with a crispness in the air from preceding days where overnight lows hovered around freezing. Roy Landa is walking around the grounds of The Landmark on Tower. Traffic goes over the railroad tracks by the combination food truck park/restaurant on Tower Road in Alamo. Thick-trunked oak trees loom over green turf and stylish picnic tables. Under the old oaks, customers go through…
Gabriel Fuentes attended PSJA High School where his father, Edgar, led the band. After graduating, he headed to Houston for college, working part time at a popular restaurant. It was where Gabriel got his first taste of cooking. He savored it. “Life happened,” he said, and college and cooking were traded for construction. Fuentes opened a company in Houston before eventually returning to Alamo. He stayed in the construction business. An…
Alamo’s newest food truck park offers the area’s newest self-pour tap wall experience. The Landmark on Tower features six hand-picked food trucks along with a rotating line-up of 24 self-serve beers, wines and more. In addition to The Landmark on Tower’s own brick oven pizzeria, guests can choose from six food trucks: RGV Crawfish Shack Cajun Seafood – A taste of Louisiana Tots With That – Loaded tater tots with…
When Denise Sandoval met Marshall Eason in the hallways of McAllen High School, she didn’t realize it was fate. Denise moved to McAllen from Monterrey at age 9, already fluent in English and Spanish. Her mom’s first language was English, having been raised in Chicago until she was 13 and her parents decided to return to Mexico. Her father had left his native country to serve in WWII, deciding later…
The Mid-Valley area will soon be getting a second food truck park when Mercedes opens its version in early 2022. The Queen City Food Park will be located right alongside the south side of Expressway 83 on its access road where it intersects with Virginia Street. Its owners are Ashley and Roy Gonzalez, who began the process of having a food park in mid-2020. The couple has worked closely…