“It’s like coming home to your grandma’s house,” said Crystal Rodriguez, a resident of Idalou who works right across from Rivera’s Mexican Food Restaurant off of Main Street. She says she and her co-worker will frequently stop by the little restaurant to get their Mexican food fix.
Located right in the middle of town, the owners of the restaurant say they’re of course happy for any business they get, but that it makes them happy knowing they can serve the community of Idalou as a whole, especially the schools. The restaurant will even stay later than usual on game nights.
“I love to feed and help the community in any way that I can, and this is something I look forward to doing all the time,” said Maria Deleon, the manager of Rivera’s.
The restaurant is owned by Lorenzo Rivera and run by his daughters, who come in early and stay late to make sure business is up and running, but even the Rivera’s know how to properly balance hard work and play.
“When we’re getting everything ready, all of a sudden one of us will say something funny and will start laughing, or the other one will start singing and dancing with the radio in the back, and dance, or you know sometimes we do something and we blame the other person just to kill time and have fun at work,” said Deleon on working with her family.
She along with her family members even have menu items named after them. So, if you decide to sit down and ask what they might recommend, keep in mind, the answer might be a little biased (depending on who you ask!).
“My dad likes a little bit of everything so we have his plate on the menu, ‘Don Lechos Plate.’ I have my own plate also, Maria salad. My stepmother, Alicia has a plate. My dad’s brother has one too. He lives in South Texas, his is a breakfast plate,” said Deleon.
And although some might foresee working with family or their siblings to be a pain, this family considers it a blessing.
Rivera’s Mexican Restaurant has been at their location on Main Street since 2011, and they all look forward to many years of serving up the Idalou community.
