By Joel Langton
The 830 Times
Del Rio’s Veterans Boulevard McDonald’s celebrated its 50th anniversary Aug. 27 as more than 100 well-wishers joined the Mendoza and Pacheco families to commemorate a business that began with one restaurant and grew into a regional enterprise.
The crowd included Mayor Al Arreola, other elected officials, San Felipe Del Rio Consolidated Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Carlos Rios and McDonald’s representatives. Ronald McDonald traveled from the company’s Chicago headquarters and was joined by several other familiar characters more commonly found in children’s Happy Meals than walking through a Del Rio restaurant.
SFDRCISD’s award-winning mariachi band entertained the crowd, while cadets from Del Rio High School’s Air Force Junior ROTC Unit TX-066 participated in the ceremony.
Following a 20-minute ribbon cutting, the celebration moved inside, where mariachis serenaded the crowd, anniversary cakes were cut and Ronald McDonald entertained children and adults.
Rios said the Mendoza and Pacheco’s families’ relationship with the school district extends far beyond the anniversary celebration.
“SFDRCISD appreciates the thoughtfulness and generosity expressed over the years by Mr. and Mrs. Mendoza and their entire family,” Rios said. “Their kindness has positively impacted each and every one of our campuses and student organizations. They have been true partners over these many years, and we wish them continued success.”
The organization and family is known throughout the community for their generosity and supporting numerous causes.
The story began in Chicago, where Frank Mendoza was working in a jewelry store and considering going into business for himself. Opening a jewelry business proved too expensive, so he began exploring franchises.
McDonald’s stood out because of its operating system—and its food.
“I liked the procedures. I liked the way they did things, and I especially liked the hamburgers,” Mendoza said. “From
there, that’s what got it all started.”
Before opening his restaurant, Mendoza attended McDonald’s training and, as he put it, “learned hamburgerology.”
His decision to leave Chicago and open a restaurant nearly 1,400 miles away was rooted in family. Frank and his wife, Martha, had children, and he began thinking about raising them outside Chicago.
He’d rather raise them on the border than on the mean streets of Chicago where crime was rampant at the time.
Martha had relatives in Del Rio, Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras, giving the young family a support system while Frank threw himself into the business.
“I figured that while I was working 24 hours a day, she would have family, and she wouldn’t be alone,” he said.
Frank and Martha opened their first McDonald’s on Veterans Boulevard in August 1976.
The early years required more than long hours. Mendoza was the restaurant’s maintenance man, repairman and whatever else the business needed.
“It was working 22 hours a day for about a year, and I told Martha, ‘This is getting to be too much. I think I’m going to die,’” Mendoza recalled.
Her solution reflected the practical humor that helped define their partnership.
“She said, ‘We’ll cut it back to 18 hours a day,’” Mendoza said.
Martha eventually joined Frank in the business, making the restaurant as much her undertaking as his. She died June 9, 2023, but her presence was felt throughout the anniversary celebration.
Family members carried a framed photograph of Martha during the ceremony, and speakers repeatedly credited her with helping establish the business and its tradition of community involvement.
What began with one Del Rio restaurant has grown into Mendoza-Pacheco Family McDonald’s, which owns and operates 12 restaurants in eight Southwest Texas communities: Del Rio, Eagle Pass, Uvalde, Hondo, Carrizo Springs, Pearsall, Cotulla and Castroville.
For Mendoza, however, the most meaningful measure of the past 50 years is not the number of restaurants his family operates. It is the number of young people who began their working lives inside them.
“I’m most proud of the people—the young people that I’ve helped,” he said.
Former employees regularly approach him and explain how the lessons they learned at McDonald’s helped them become teachers, administrators and community leaders.
“Somebody tells me, ‘I used to work for you at McDonald’s, and I appreciate everything that I learned. It helped me in my future career,’” Mendoza said. “I hear the same thing from administrators here: ‘I used to work at McDonald’s.’”
The family’s support extends to schools, civic organizations, medical services, military affairs and community projects on
both sides of the border.
Mendoza said one of his greatest concerns is creating enough economic opportunity for Del Rio’s children to build their futures close to home. Too often, parents tell him their grown children moved to Dallas, Houston, California or elsewhere because they could not find suitable careers in Del Rio.
“I have been blessed. My grandchildren live here. My great-grandchildren live here, and that’s what I want for the people of Del Rio,” Mendoza said. “I want you to have your family here—and come visit me at McDonald’s.”
Mendoza credited his daughter with organizing the celebration, including its decorations and promotions.
“I just sat back and watched,” he joked. “She took care of everything. I just get the bill.”
Elena Pacheco, Frank and Martha’s daughter, said the anniversary ultimately belonged to the community that supported the family for five decades.
“Today isn’t about our families,” Pacheco said. “Today is about Del Rio because they are the ones who made all of this happen. We couldn’t have done it without Del Rio’s support.”
