Cafe Del Rio Opens Thursday, Check Out These Exclusive Videos

On Sunday, June 11th, the doors of the Cafe Del Rio on South First Street in Lufkin were closed, bringing to an end over 23 years of serving up delicious Tex-Mex cuisine to East Texans.  On Thursday, June 15th, at 11 a.m., the new, bigger, better, my gosh there's even a train for the kids Cafe Del Rio opens to the public.  

Thousands of folks have been keeping track of the construction of the new restaurant located at the intersection of Highway 69 South and the east Loop 287 in Lufkin. At first glance, one thing was obvious to any observer...this place was going to be huge.  The new Cafe Del Rio is nearly 15,000 square feet as opposed to the 8,000 of the previous location. Pending the exact numbers given by the fire marshal's inspection, the new restaurant will boast about an extra 50% in seating availability.

Letty Vargas has been employed with Cafe Del Rio since they opened their doors over 23 years ago.  She is now the general manager and she was kind enough to take time out of her extremely hectic schedule to give KICKS 105's Danny Merrell an exclusive walk through of the new digs.

Some of the old equipment, decorations, and features made the trip from the previous location, such as Carlos (the talking guy in the glass box), the mariachi decorations in the yard, and some of the grills that have just the right seasoning through the years. But, the new decorations, new store, new booths, seats, and tables are wonderful.  The huge, new bar featuring custom wood working is a marvel to see.  Most every machine in the tortilla production room are new.  And, we can't forget about the TRAIN!!  Any kid's plate purchase will merit a ticket to ride the outdoor train (the cost without a kid's meal is $2 per ticket).