Breakfast with a Hispanic twist
A new restaurant is moving into the former Meksiko Cantina site in West End Center, Farragut.
Ignacio Martinez and Genaro Jimenez, co-owners, said they hope to open Don Delfi’s Pancake House and Restaurant at 120 West End Ave. by mid-September if all goes well.
Don Delfi’s Pancake House and Restaurant will be a family-oriented “mom-and-pop” business serving Chicago-style breakfasts all day, along with lunch and dinner items. Jimenez said.
The home-style breakfast items will include “football” omelets, which are omelets folded to look like a football; crepes with fresh fruit; waffles; South of the Border breakfast skillets, he said. People will be able to choose what items, such as ham, sausage, peppers, cheese, that they want to add to their omelets.
“There will be a lot of variety,” Jimenez said.
Martinez said breakfast is served all day to accommodate customers who work late.
“We know people work nights and really don’t feel like steak,” he said. “They want eggs and bacon.”
Lunch and dinner items will include sandwiches, salads and homemade soups. Customers also can expect steak on the dinner menu on Fridays and Saturdays, Martinez said.
They are planning to have the restaurant open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., Mondays through Fridays, and from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays.
Martinez said they see the restaurant as an opportunity to serve the community.
“We want to be involved in the community as much as we can,” Jimenez said.
“We like the town of Farragut, and the schools are close,” Martinez said. “We are inviting little ones to come in and see how the restaurant business works.”
Jimenez and Martinez, originally from Mexico, spent most of their lives in Chicago, Ill., Jimenez said. They were working together in a restaurant in Chicago when the opportunity came to own and operate a restaurant together. Jimenez said a food provider introduced them to Francis Delarocha of Century 21 in Farragut.
“We talked about coming to Tennessee to open a business,” he said. “We thought it would be a good opportunity to succeed here.”
“This [restaurant] has been our dream for such a long time,” Martinez said.
“Now it seems like the dream has come true,” Jimenez said. “I really like the town of Farragut. It’s nice. When you live in a big city like Chicago, you feel like you don’t have room to breathe. It’s like a third-world country.”
However, he said Farragut is more family-oriented and conservative, which he said is important because he has children of his own.
