“I’m looking for more waitresses,” said Al Lino, owner of Mel’s Diner in Rio

Hondo, where boxes of beer line the wall. “Saturday night we didn’t have

an empty seat. It was like a 45-minute wait for dinner. A good problem to

have.”

  The popular family restaurant, formerly located between Rio Hondo and

Los Fresnos on FM 106, outgrew its old digs, so Lino moved it in May to a

4,800-square-foot hangar at Rio Hondo’s former airport. Offering live

country and Mexican music and a dance floor on Thursday through

Saturday nights (with Lino as the disc jockey on Fridays), the diner is more

of a honky tonk and grill than a traditional diner. But Lino still maintains

its original roots. “It’s a new diner for a new age. A place where you can

take your kids, teach them how to dance, and then have a good meal.”

                                                                           When Al’s mother, Imelda (the restaurant’s namesake), opened her restaurant in 2006, her

                                                                        son hardly envisioned such growth. “There was just me, my mom and my stepdad who worked

                                                                        there, with my brother and sister occasionally chipping in.” His mother struggled to develop the

                                                                        restaurant’s identity, Dinner in the Diner favoring decorative themes that included old cars from

                                                                        the 1950s to the ‘70s.

                                                                          “Business was real slow at first. I remember playing board games, waiting for customers to

                                                                        come in,” Lino said. “But a good year into it, we started getting busier.” Offering a little of

                                                                        everything on its menu -- wings, burgers, Mexican food, fish, fajitas, salads, BLTs -- word of mouth

                                                                        pulled in customers. Despite its modest, 1,200-square-foot size, “we used to get it packed in

                                                                        pretty good.”

                                                                          By 2010, his mother retired and handed the business over to her son, whom she had taught

                                                                        how to cook, knowing he had a knack for it. In fact, the diner’s most popular dish, the one that

                                                                        has become its signature, is Lino’s creation. A burger stuffed with a sloppy-Joe-like shredded

                                                                        brisket on top, the Trashcan Burger actually started out as a mistake. During a busy dinner rush

                                                                        in 2008, Lino noticed that some extra brisket was available. “I decided to put some on a burger

                                                                        and when I tasted it, it was awesome. I had my mom try it, and she said ‘oh, that’s good.’” He

                                                                        christened his invention the Trashcan burger, although his mother bristled at the idea. Many

                                                                        satisfied customers later, Lino’s instincts have proven spot on, particularly among young male

                                                                        diners, who are the sandwich’s biggest fans. “They go insane for it. We sell a lot of them.”

 

 

 

 

 

  Catering continues to bring in a large amount of business. Begun

during his mother’s tenure, the successful gigs are such moneymakers

that Lino has had to upgrade all the supporting equipment it requires.

“We went from using the back of my truck to a small trailer to a 20-foot

enclosed trailer to haul everything. We cook here at the restaurant; my

warmers, my chafing dishes, ice chests and all my other equipment is

in the trailer. I have a whole separate kitchen in there, too.”

  Most customers are locals, which has resulted in Lino, 27, becoming a

bit of a local celebrity. “I’m a people person. I talk to everybody,” he said

at his restaurant, where he cooks as needed (he has four cooks) and

even cleans. He’s also seen serving diners and visiting each table to say

hello. “Everyone knows my name is Al, but at the Stripes (in Rio Hondo),

they call me Mel. It’s like politics: I shake everybody’s hand there.”

  Despite moving to a larger space, Lino is already worrying about

whether or not it will do. Since the move, business has doubled. “I

thought this one was going to be big enough,” he said. “But we need

more kitchen equipment to keep up. I’m thinking, where are we going

to put it?” To address the increase in customer traffic, he’s finishing a renovation of a deck/patio area on the building’s east side. Not only does he intend to create more seating space, he hopes its design features (palm tree shade and a water fountain decorated with rocks) will create a relaxing ambiance for diners.

  A young restauranteur with big plans, Lino loves the food business. It’s in his blood. And he knows he’s blessed, especially as chain

restaurants, like Subway, have started to move into the growing town by the Arroyo. Many residents have said to him that Rio Hondo

needed his diner. The fact that Whataburger is opening up right down the road doesn’t faze Lino at all. “I tell them to bring it on"