Birthed from a 20-year dream and the friendship of two families, WiscoTx Cafe serves up hearty portions to customers who have become regulars since the opening last year, and are now considered an extension of the family, co-owner Keila Hernandez said.
“I love that even though we are new and there are a lot of restaurants nearby that have been here for many years, people still trust us and they come here and enjoy what we do,” Hernandez said.
What's on the menu
The cafe prides itself on its Texas-sized portions and has become known for its skillet dishes like the WiscoTx skillet, a heap of grilled steak topped with tomatoes, onions, red and green peppers, and cheddar cheese. The menu focuses on breakfast and lunch items, including skillets, omelets, crepes, waffles, pancakes, egg dishes, breakfast sandwiches and combo plates. It rounds out with a list of sides, appetizers and a kids menu.
For lunch, the menu runs the gamut from burgers to sandwiches to salads and wraps and a choice of fries or soups.
Since last March, the menu has grown to include new dishes from the Mexican Benedict, an English muffin beneath two poached eggs, chorizo, onions and green peppers to a skillet that starts with a bed of Polish Kielbasa sausage covered in a mound of tomatoes, green and red peppers, onions, and cheddar cheese, Hernandez said.
On the lunch side, the team has added a turkey, ham and Swiss sandwich served on white toast dubbed the Monte Cristo; and a Patty Melt burger sporting two patties on Texas toast with Swiss cheese, onions and mushrooms, she said. While still serving their signature sweets like the cream-cheese filled WiscoTx crepes topped with whipped cream, bananas and strawberries, the cafe now offers fried ice cream and crepes drizzled with Nutella.
The backstory
In April 2023, chef and owner Jose Aguirre, his daughter Nelly and his brother Librado trekked down to Texas from Wisconsin to be closer to Aguirre’s family after his wife passed away a year prior. In June, Aguirre befriended Hernandez and her husband Samuel Carlos, pastors at his church Iglesia Pentecostes Mana in Denton and approached them with an idea for a restaurant that had been brewing for 20 years.
Jose Aguirre and his brother Librado curated the menu using their decades of experience in the restaurant industry. Eventually, Aguirre asked if his pastors would be interested in becoming investors and by February 2024 Aguirre, his brother and Hernandez opened the cafe along the 1300 block of Main Street in Lewisville as co-owners, Hernandez said. The co-owners’ children also work at the cafe as servers.
Jose and his brother had considered starting the restaurant back in Wisconsin, but it just wasn’t the right time, Hernandez said. Once they moved, everything fell into place. They met Hernandez, saw a vacant spot in Lewisville and seized the opportunity. Hernandez said she jumped in with full confidence. The brothers could handle the kitchen and Hernandez would run the front of the house.
“They had the menu and they knew how to work, so we knew it was going to be a success,” she said.
Like the owners themselves, the cafe is a mashup of Wisconsin, Texas and Hispanic cuisines and items like the cheese curds and mozzarella sticks can be a touch of home for any traveling Wisconsinites.
Why its special
The cafe has become a local favorite with many customers visiting every week. Lewisville resident Megan Histand said she and her husband visit every weekend and have tried nearly everything on the over 50-item menu.
“We have never had anything bad and I bring people here all the time,” Histand said. “I like that it's family-owned and feels like a diner. If you come more than once, you’re family.”
Histand said that the service is unbelievable. The staff knows customers by name and are vigilant about service. Other places just don’t have the same feel, quality or portion size to compete, she said.
WiscoTx Cafe was also recognized last year by Lewisville ISD for catering its Hispanic Heritage Cultural celebration in September and won Lewisville’s Best of 2024 based on its customer feedback.
Going forward
With continued success, the cafe is looking at opening a possible second location in Gainesville and is in the process of creating promotional and special events to host in the future, Hernandez said. While still in the planning stages, the staff wants to put on something for children this summer.
From knowing customers' weekly routines to sharing resources with the surrounding businesses, WiscoTx Cafe has become embedded in the Lewisville community, Hernandez said.
“Customers can’t imagine how their support is impacting our lives,” she said. “It gives us hope that we can grow a little more and it's been a blessing to our families, to our church, to everybody.”
- 1322 W. Main St., Lewisville
- www.wiscotxcafe.com
