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 future location on April 21. For Mercedes, it’s a milestone. It’s the first time in 15 years that a big-box food chain will open a new restaurant in the city.

“It’s exciting times for Mercedes,” said Fred Gonzalez, the president of the city’s chamber of commerce who also chairs the board of the local economic development corporation. “We have much more on the way.”

Just The Beginning

Gonzalez and other community leaders are ready in the coming weeks to announce some major business developments in other parts of the city. For the time being, news of a Sonic was much welcome in a Mid-Valley city enthuses about catching the sort of growth seen in neighboring cities. 

Al Trevino, the Sonic franchise owner, was impressed by both the welcome and cooperation he received from Mercedes. He owns several restaurant-related businesses in the upper Rio Grande Valley and spoke at the groundbreaking of his pleasure to do business in the Mid-Valley.

“Look at this location,” Trevino said of where his Sonic will sit on a busy Mid-Valley street corner that is roughly a mile from Expressway 83. “We’re happy to be here and I want to thank the entire city for their support and patience.”

The Sonic is a $2.7-million project that is expected to create 35 jobs and generate yearly revenues of $1.5 million. Mercedes Mayor Oscar Montoya told those in attendance that one of his first jobs as a youngster was working at a Sonic. He good naturedly encouraged Trevino to get his Sonic open in time for the Fourth of July.

“This is just a start,” Montoya said, hinting of imminent announcements regarding new businesses coming to Mercedes. “People say Mercedes has so much potential. I say, no, Mercedes has so much energy, and there are others (developments) coming.”