Cuco and Olga Alvarado opened the Palm Cafe in San Marcos in 2006, but had it not been for the generosity of friends and former employers, they may never have ended up in Central Texas, they said.


The pair married in 1991 and made the decision to come to the U.S. from Juarez, Mexico, one year later. They settled in Bryan-College Station, where Cuco got work with a roofing company.


Six months later, Cuco received a phone call from his brother, who was living in San Marcos. Having heard that Cuco had recently purchased a car—a 1986 Chevrolet Monte Carlo Supersport that he still remembers fondly—Cuco’s brother asked if the couple might consider moving to San Marcos so he could have a reliable ride to work.


Cuco and Olga arrived in San Marcos but nearly decided to move back to Mexico after problems with their apartment. Tommy Cuevas, the longtime proprietor of Cuevas Produce who died in February, stepped in to help the young couple solve their problem.


“He helped us find a house to live in,” Cuco said. “He was a very good person.”


Cuco found work in the mornings at a factory and in the evenings working as a dishwasher at Garcia’s Mexican Restaurant in San Marcos. Olga worked in the kitchen at Red Lobster in San Marcos, and after 12 years the pair saved enough money to buy a building that formerly housed a Mexican restaurant in New Braunfels. Less than a year later, they purchased a building at 504 Broadway St., San Marcos, which formerly housed a chicken restaurant.


The Alvarados’ success in the restaurant industry has been a family affair. Cuco’s brother Efraim took over the former Palm Cafe in Kyle—which he renamed to Spicy Bite—and his brother David took over the Palm Cafe in Seguin. His sister, Marycruz, also owns Chepo’s in San Marcos.


Cuco and Olga’s dedication to their family comes through at the restaurant, they said. Staff are expected to treat guests like family, and the couple said they want customers to “taste the love” used in making each dish, Olga said.


“[Our regular customers] love that Palm Cafe feels like family,” manager Mary Tijerina said. “[Customers] get here, and a lot of the regulars, the waitresses already know what they’re having. They don’t even take them a menu.”


Among the most popular items on the menu is the chile relleno plate ($7.99), which includes a fried poblano pepper stuffed with cheese and meat and served with rice and beans.


The gorditas ($6.99), another popular item, include two puffed corn tortillas stuffed with cheese, meat and other ingredients.


Cuco and Olga, who recently completed the process to become U.S. citizens, said they always knew they would find success in San Marcos.


“A lot of people told us, ‘Don’t go to San Marcos. It’s just a little town. You have no future there. Don’t move,’” Olga said. “Now I told my husband the other day, ‘Let’s go find all our old friends in Bryan to tell them we were right.’”