Owning and operating the Rio Grande restaurant has truly been a community affair for owners Mario Maldonado and Raquel Cisneros.
Since the two emigrated from Mexico 25 years ago, they have been ingratiating themselves into the Austin-area restaurant industry, working in a variety of roles, including as a dish washer, beverage director and ultimately in management at the Austin Country Club.
In 2001 the husband-and-wife pair decided to turn a passion into a product and bought out a friend who owned the Rio Grande restaurant in Round Rock.
Cisneros’ mother and father helped in the kitchen, turning out plates as fast as they could. The couple took all the help they could get to make the first Round Rock restaurant successful.
“We started with $5,000 in our pocket, and from there we built everything up and put it to work,” Maldonado said.
In 2005 the city of Hutto came to the couple to ask if they would be willing to open another location of their restaurant.
Although the pair was not looking to build another location, again, they decided to take a chance.
“At that point it was just a Home Depot, Sonic and McDonald’s in the town,” Maldonado said.
This investment in Hutto has prospered for 12 years, and Cisneros, who operates the Hutto location, plans to move to a new location sometime in the future for a larger space.
In 2009 the owners sold their Round Rock restaurant with no desire to expand. Again, an opportunity arose, and in 2010 they purchased their current Pflugerville location from a friend.
“We’ve been in the community for so long, close by to high schools and the district,” Maldonado said. “We help the students pay for classes, for uniforms; they work for us for a long time.”
Each time the restaurant expanded, the owners were not expecting the opportunities that fell into place. Based on the support they received from their families, friends and community members, Maldonado said success became possible.
Maldonado said the service and quality of food are the two factors that have kept the restaurants going, and he sees that as unlikely to change.
“It is hard to find quality people; that’s probably the biggest challenge,” he said. “But our employees are so proud to welcome customers—they know them by name, and they love to see kids growing up.”
Rio Grande
Pflugerville location:
15821 Central Commerce Drive, Pflugerville
512-252-1800
Hutto location:
560 Hwy. 79, Hutto
512-759-1449
www.riograndemex.com
Hours: Mon.-Thu. 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m., Fri. 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m.-10:30 p.m., Sun. 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
