“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 fourth time.

 “When I answer the phone, 40 to 50 times per day, I say, ‘This is Lou’s,’ and I think of her.”

Then there’s the larger-than-life portrait of Willie Nelson on the restaurant’s west wall. The portrait, spray-painted freehand by Harlingen artist Leo Rivera, reminds Jose of how the country crooner got him through some tough times.

“When I listen to his music, it puts me in a different place,” Jose said. “He calms me.”

Jose’s maternal grandparents hailed from Mission but spent 60 years as migrant farmworkers in Minnesota. Jose was born and raised there but came to the Rio Grande Valley for family reunions.

“I loved the heat, I loved the tacos and I fell in love with the Valley,” Jose said. 

Getting Into The Restaurant Business

After high school, he left Minnesota to attend The University of Texas-Pan American (now The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley) where he joined the university’s highly acclaimed Ballet Folklórico. A sports injury his sophomore year dashed Jose’s hopes of one day owning a dance studio. He returned to Minnesota and earned an associate degree.

The Valley beckoned Jose back. He worked in various management positions before taking on an upper-management role with Taco Bell in Victoria.

Jose and Iesha decided to return to the Valley in recent years to be closer to his daughter, Melodie. Jose developed a love for the pace in his many years of working in the food service industry. He envisioned having his own restaurant and imagined the dishes on the menu, like the Minnesota-inspired Juicy Lucy.

“It’s basically an inverted cheeseburger,” Jose explained, “two patties stuffed with cheese.” 

Jose would eventually add house-made pickled cucumbers and fries with a side of lemon herb aioli to the Minnesota classic. He knew they had one problem.

“I am not a chef,” he said. 

But a friend solved this problem when he introduced Jose to Augie Rodriguez, a former Marine Corps reservist raised in Dallas and trained at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Scottsdale, Ariz. The two men met a year ago and everything fell into place.

 “I give him ideas and he brings them to life,” Jose said.

Starting A New Venture

Lou’s opened Jan. 8, serving up customer favorites like carnitas biscuits and gravy, chile relleno, and chicken and waffles, along with fluffy pancakes, steak and eggs, and gravlax (smoked salmon on a bagel with lemon herb cream cheese and topped with crispy capers).

They take pride in sourcing many of the ingredients locally from businesses like Terra Preta Farms and Fresh Find Farms. For Augie, inspiration does not come from some abstract vision.

“I love food, but I invest my time in how flavors come together. I like to think about what I can do to make it different, like my take on the chile relleno,” he said.

 Augie’s take is a toasted poblano stuffed with potato and chorizo over a bed of black bean mash and topped with queso fresco, sliced avocado and a fried egg. 

The “Brews” part of the restaurant’s name is coming soon, including unique craft beers from Minnesota and the Valley with spiked coffee and house-made infused creamers. Lou’s celebrates the fine arts, with artwork created by local artists available for purchase and live entertainment on the weekends. Customers experiencing Lou’s flavor of food and the ambience compare it to Austin and other cities. 

“A traveling nurse who is a customer tells me, ‘This feels like brunch in Colorado; it makes me not miss home as much,'” Jose said.

Learning The Ropes And More

Jose and Augie have already learned a lot.

“Focusing on the staff is so important,” Augie said. “I want to bring them to the level where we want them to be.” 

Jose agrees.

“Each person in your business is valuable, and how you treat them is important,” he said. “And I really like getting to know our customers, making them feel comfortable.”

He has also discovered the meaning of community.

“I have learned how supportive family and friends can be for a small business,” he said. “They come in, but they also order carry-out and catering, and they share our posts on social media.”

Lou’s has come together just as Jose, Iesha and Augie hoped it would, and Jose’s parents, Willie and the community are always on their minds.