Restaurant owners bring Puerto Rican food to Hollister

HOLLISTER, Mo. — A local Mexican restaurant has been under new management for the past few months, and they are changing things up to reflect their Mexican and Puerto Rican culture.

The owners of El Patio Mexican Grill say their goal is to make the menu their own while staying true to authentic recipes and fresh ingredients.

“Everything is made fresh daily,” said Nidia Santos, owner of El Patio Mexican Grill. “The rice, the beans, chips they make as we go, the salsa, you need to try my salsa.”

Santos says she wants her menu to stand out, and not many people realize the scope of Latin cuisine, so their menu includes dishes with Puerto Rican influence.

“We have mofongo, carne frita which is there, like the traditional dishes from Puerto Rico,” Santos said. “And we have arroz con gandules and empanadillas.”

These unique items are part of her husband’s culture and customers say they can’t usually find dishes like them in other places around the Ozarks.

“My son-in-law is half Puerto Rican and half Mexican,” said Hal Teagarden, a regular at El Patio. “I can’t wait to tell my son-in-law and my family, I’m going to get them all come over here because we miss this cuisine, something terrible because, you know, it just hasn’t been available anywhere else.”

Santos says she has learned many lessons about cooking and hospitality from working in the restaurant industry, but also from watching her mom and grandma, including treating people the way she would want to be treated – from her customers to her servers and cooks.

“I’m nothing without them,” Santos said. “So I’m thankful for the people that I have working for me.”

Santos says she relies on her team to give each customer the best experience possible.

“Sometimes our customers, I said this is not on the menu, but do you think you can make it happen? I always say, of course,” Santos said. “I tell everyone if somebody wants something and we have the items, make it for them. They will be happy and will remember that little thing that you did for them and you make them feel special.”

“If you want to get something done a little bit different way, they’ll do it any way you want,” Teagarden said. “That’s what I like about it, they go, yeah, we’ll do that for you. That’s great, you know, you don’t get that very often.”

El Patio offers carry-out, catering, and dine-in options including a full bar and happy hour. Their hours are:

• Sunday 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
• Monday 10:30 a.m. – 7 p.m.
• Tuesday–Thursday 10:30 a.m. – 8 p.m.
• Friday-Saturday 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.
• Happy Hour Monday – Friday 2-5 p.m. and all day Sunday

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