New chain restaurants open in McAllen

McALLEN - Mimi's Café was supposed to have a "soft opening."

That means no advertising, no balloons or signs to announce the establishment is ready for business.

The only customers would be those who accidentally stroll into the restaurant near Expressway 83.

However, the first few days of business - last weekend - were anything but soft, said owner Antoine Plessy.

"On the third day (a Saturday) we served over 1,500 people," said Plessy, the Austin-based owner of nine Mimi's Café restaurants in Texas.

In fact, it's difficult for anything at the lucrative corner of Expressway 83 and Ware Road to launch with a low-key opening.

Mimi's Café is one of a trio of national chain restaurants opening at the intersection this month.

Romano's Macaroni Grill opened earlier in the week and Cracker Barrel Old Country Store this morning.

Two other restaurants, P.F. Chang's China Bistro and BJ's Restaurant, opened in the fall to big crowds.

The shopping center also includes several major retailers, including Sports Authority, Babies ‘R' Us and Guitar Center. A Best Buy is slated for the second phase of the development.

The site has easily become one of the hottest and most sought after restaurant spots in the Rio Grande Valley.

There is even more potential for growth with the new Anzalduas Bridge, scheduled to open in Mission in summer 2009.

"It's a domino effect," said McAllen Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Steve Ahlenius. "It shows that we can never have too many restaurants in McAllen."

Local restaurateurs say all the other pads at the shopping center are spoken for and many are looking for spots nearby. The site's developer says another restaurant, Houlihan's, will also locate there.

Mimi's Café is a mix between a French coffeehouse and an American dinner restaurant, serving items such as soups and muffins, Plessy said.

"We think that kind of puts us in a niche of our own," Plessy said.

Romano's Macaroni Grill is run by local restaurateur Rick Guerra, who operates two Tony Roma's restaurants in McAllen. Even with multiple Olive Garden and Johnny Carino's restaurants in McAllen, the Italian-American themed restaurant is underserved here, Guerra said.

"We started working on this once the city started finalizing the deal with Simon (the property's developer)," Guerra said.

The Macaroni Grill franchise is represented by more than 240 locations nationwide, but it's the company's first venture into the Rio Grande Valley. Guerra and his partners have plans to build three more restaurants in South Texas - in North McAllen, Laredo and Brownsville.

As for Cracker Barrel - one of the nation's largest casual dining chains and popular throughout the southern United States - the restaurant serves American-style "home-cooked food," said company spokeswoman Julie Davis.

"When we are looking for new locations we review a variety of things, population and traffic counts and we look closely at the competition," Davis said.

The restaurant doubles as a retail store, selling a variety of gifts and food. It is expected to employ about 150 people, the same as the other two restaurants opening along with it.