When the Alvarez family was faced with the decision to either quit the restaurant business or trudge through a global pandemic with their newly opened restaurant, they chose the latter.

Casa Del Bro Mexican Grill & Creamery at 5444 FM 423, Ste. 100, Frisco, opened in January 2020. Offering a mix between authentic Mexican food and homemade ice cream, the restaurant is run by co-owners Rafael Alvarez and his wife, Kristen Alvarez.

“We’re young parents with a lot of kids. We wanted to create something that was appealing to young families,” Rafael said. “Somewhere parents can drink margaritas, have good Mexican food, and kids can enjoy ice cream.”

Casa Del Bro serves a variety of Tex-Mex foods, including street tacos, burritos, nachos, quesadillas and queso, which is a best seller, Rafael said. It also has an ice-cream corner where customers can order sundaes, floats, shakes and homemade waffle cones.

Rafael, who has been in the restaurant business for over a decade, said the couple initially tried to negotiate leases for three separate locations before they were able to secure their location. However, that was not the end of their struggles, Kristen said.

“We hit brick walls left and right in the very beginning,” she said, “But when COVID hit, we had no idea what [business] was going to look like.”

Sales dropped, Rafael said, and investors pulled out in fear of the pandemic. But the family did not lose hope, Kristen said, and instead focused on updating their business models to become COVID-friendly.

“We took it a day at a time, doing curbside and basically anything we could to save money,” he said.

Kristen said the community also played a role in the survival of the business.

“It was Cinco de Mayo when we were doing curbside, and a customer waiting outside handed me an envelope saying, ‘I’ve been so worried about your family and wanted to take care of you.’ When I opened the envelope, there was a card in it worth $500,” she said.

As restrictions started to lift, Rafael said he finally saw the business numbers they had been aiming for. With increased sales, the family was able to complete renovations and remodel parts of the restaurant, Rafael said.

“We realize the blessing that this place is and the position we have,” he said. “This is our responsibility, and we want to do an excellent job.” www.casadelbro.com