 Now, just a few weeks short of one year later, Leon is hosting
another celebration Saturday -- a grand opening of an expansion of
his restaurant.
When Leon opened his eatery in Lincoln, it was not a first for
him. At that time he spoke about his childhood and the journey that
had brought him first to the United States, then the Midwest and
finally to Lincoln.
He said that growing up in Mexico as a child, he developed a love
for good food and a love for cooking it. It was that part of his
upbringing that led him to a career as a restaurateur.
This week Leon said that from the day he opened the Rio Grande,
everything has gone well.
The restaurant has gotten a lot of local patronage, and there are
many repeat customers that Leon is grateful for.
His goal to establish a drive-up window for carryout service was
accomplished, as was his desire to have an open-air space for
patrons who choose to dine outside.
Leon said that this summer, though, when highway traffic picked
up, he became a bit concerned about the amount of time customers had
to wait to be seated and served.
This is the kind of problem that a lot of restaurants would be
happy to have, but for Leon, it meant a delay of the services he was
able to offer his patrons, and that was unacceptable.
He knew then that he needed to find a way to make his place
larger, and luckily the answer was only a wall away.
The restaurant, located at 3901 Woodlawn Road, was in a multiplex
building, and the space next door to the Rio Grande was empty.
Leon made arrangements to take on that space and remodel it to
become an extension of his restaurant. The new space will offer
seating for approximately 50 people, doubling the restaurant's
serving capacity.
The new space will be accessible through a wide doorway in the
original restaurant. The Southwestern motif with terra-cotta-colored
walls and brightly decorated artisan tables and chairs will flow
into the new area seamlessly.
In the back part of the building, the kitchen, food prep area and
freezer storage are being expanded, and the new space will also
offer its own restroom facilities for customer convenience.
Leon said he will make the space available for meetings and
parties, and to that end he already has his first wedding booked for
Nov. 20 and has had inquiries about using the room for Christmas
parties.
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When Leon came to Lincoln with his wife, Maria, and young
daughter, Jasmine, he said one reason for locating here was that
they were looking for a good place to raise their daughter.
They chose Lincoln because it appeared to be a smaller, safer
community than where they had lived previously in Decatur.
Now, a year later, Leon said that he and his wife are very happy
with the decision they made. They have been well received in Lincoln
and hope that they will continue to be welcome in this area for many
years to come.
Leon said he wanted to send out a personal message to everyone in
the community.
He said: "I want to say thank you to the people of Lincoln for
accepting me and my family into the community. It has been a
pleasure serving you and getting to know you. With your continued
support, I will do my best to provide you with good service and good
meals."
He added that for those he knows and those he doesn't, he wants
to take a moment to consider the approaching holiday season, and he
wishes for everyone the best of everything.
In celebration of the grand opening of the restaurant expansion,
the Rio Grande is having a party Saturday with music, lunch, dinner
and drink specials including 99-cent margaritas.
Everyone is invited to come out and see the new space and enjoy
some really good authentic Mexican food.
[By NILA SMITH]
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