Repeat customers are the lifeblood of Spring-based I-45 Diner, co-owner Hector Gomez said.

Whether it is the oil and gas employee who spreads the word to his friends and family after his first I-45 Diner breakfast or the Texas A&M student who orders the same bacon cheeseburger when he returns to Houston on weekends, the return customers are driving the diner’s success, Gomez said.

“I’ve enjoyed just seeing the same people coming back, which tells us we’re doing something right,” Gomez said. “They like our product. They like the atmosphere. They like our staff.”

Gomez and business partner Javier Mendez say it is the restaurant’s diverse menu that keeps customers coming back to I-45 Diner, located at I-45 and Cypresswood Drive.

“Once they come in here, they always come back,” Gomez said. “Whether it’s scrambled eggs or T-bone steak or grilled fish, we’re concentrating on the quality of it.”

The diner serves a breakfast menu that includes traditional favorites such as French toast, eggs benedict and omelettes. The lunch and dinner selection includes burgers, chicken-fried steak and pork chops.

The menu also offers dishes with a Mexican fare, featuring chorizo and sausage on the breakfast menu and barbacoa as a dinner option. The breakfast and dinner menu are served all day in addition to desserts such as the diner’s milkshakes.

“One of the things that helps us with the community is that we have an open menu,” Mendez said. “You can come and get breakfast in the morning or in the nighttime. You can come and get a burger at 6 a.m. or eggs at 9 p.m.”

The two owners said the diner benefits from its flexibility—a necessity given the competition in the restaurant industry. The menu has been edited three times to add more options to the dinner menu and some traditional Mexican dishes since it opened a year ago.   

Gomez said I-45 maintains the same flexible mentality with other aspects of the business as well. He said he and his partner take the suggestions of staff and customers seriously. They constantly look at ways to cut food costs and keep employees following the duo’s vision.

Coming up with the concept for I-45 Diner was simple. The partners wanted to start a restaurant similar to IHOP but with a distinctive twist. The name was chosen so it would be easy to remember for potential customers and so—once the first restaurant is established—the brand can be expanded throughout Northwest Houston, Gomez said. 

When the opportunity presented itself, Gomez and Mendez said they jumped at the chance to open the eatery. 

Mendez, a restaurant management veteran and former IHOP manager, said launching the diner has meant many long work weeks, but starting the business with Gomez has been rewarding.

“The work never stops,” he said. “It’s not just the first six months. It’s every day. If you relax, everyone relaxes.”