Los Fresnos News

Los Fresnos restaurants offer different hours of operation

Ovilia Tapia talks about the family-owned restaurant that only has take-out food orders since they reopened for business. Photo: Tony Vindell / LFN

By TONY VINDELL
LFN

Although Texas restaurants are now allowed to open with a 25 percent or 50 percent capacity, depending where they are located, here in Los Fresnos their hours of service differ from one place to another.

Since the pandemic began back in late March, some eateries began selling food on a curbside or delivery basis until the orders to reopen were lifted either by a local or county government.

Currently, that differs here as some restaurants are open at 25 percent and 50 percent occupancy rate.

Arnie’s Winghouse, a bar and grill on South Arroyo Boulevard, has its dine-in area open at 50 percent capacity, whereas Wing Stop, which is a similar type of establishment, is only offering take-out food services.

A review of a number of local restaurants, ranging from mom-and-pop operations to outlets belonging to state and national franchises, revealed contrasting pictures in the way these businesses are being run.

Churches and McDonalds have not allowed its customers to dine-in, but Dairy Queen is letting patrons in at 50 percent capacity.

Most Mexican-food eateries have not opened their dine-in areas, but Julia’s Restaurant is letting people dine-in at 25 percent capacity.

Two of the city’s oldest mom-and-pop eateries, called Tapias Café and Piedad, are selling food for take-out.

Ovilia Tapia, who runs the 45-year-old family-owned restaurant that bills itself as one of the RGV’s best known secrets, said they prefer to have curbside service rather than letting new and faithful clientele in, regardless of what people might say out there.

“Do we want our customers to come in and sit here and over there against their wishes?” she said. “Some of them might say what are we doing?”

So in order to treat everybody fairly, Tapia said they have opted to let people phone in to order what they want.

“We closed down for a month,” she said, “and have been doing this since we reopened.”