Walking into Magnolia Diner’s Montgomery location is a blast into America’s past, complete with ’50s and ’60s music, black-and-white photographs of Hollywood actors and crooning musicians hanging from the walls.

The original Magnolia Diner opened in 2003 in Magnolia, quickly becoming popular as a community staple with a from-scratch menu that includes handbreaded chicken-fried steak, peach cobbler and specials. The diner offers everything from Mexican-inspired breakfasts to pasta plates and seafood dishes.

“If you wanted to know what was happening in Magnolia, you would come to the diner and in 10 minutes you would know what is new in the whole city,” co-owner Paz Patel said.

In 2006, the Patel family, owners of the restaurant, opened a second location in Montgomery.

Becoming restaurant owners was not part of the plan when Paz and his family moved from Europe to the U.S. Paz and his father, Manu, had lined up jobs at a computer programming company in Austin in 2000. However, the dot-com bubble collapse left them without employment prospects.

As the collapse claimed the workforce of many companies, Paz said he noticed the restaurant industry, for the most part, was holding its own. Adapting to the circumstances, the Patels began looking for a restaurant in a smaller market to call their own.

“If you would have told us we would be in Montgomery [owning] American diners, we would not have believed you,” Paz said.

Family members living in the Magnolia and Tomball area encouraged the Patels to move to Magnolia and open a traditional diner that focused on hearty breakfasts, burgers and milkshakes.

Now, Paz and his wife, Sima, run the Montgomery location, and Paz’s parents run the Magnolia location. While the Patels did not plan for Magnolia Diner, Paz said they cannot imagine doing anything else.

“We both love it,” Paz said. “Seeing your customers and having employees you talk to every day is actually the most rewarding part.”