LDO BLOG

The Hound Dog at Rock-A-Billy Deli & Grill

In all of my culinary travels over the past 25 years, I have met many wonderful and inspiring restaurant owners, but nothing compares to Irene Gonzales. This 5’1” dynamo is the brains, body, energy and soul behind a small family 50’retro restaurant called Rock-A- Billy Deli & Grill.Long before she became a restaurant owner, Irene was in the dental field for a total of 17 years, as a registered dental assistant and a manager of a large dental office. She has a degree in business and a MBA degree in Business Administration. She never worked in a restaurant and when asked “Why a restaurant”, her reply was both quick and passionately assertive, “I have a passion for people a love affair with food and I always wanted to own a restaurant where quality food was served in a fun and family oriented environment”. She got her inspiration from her mother and father who always liked cooking and she and her brother and sisters were spoiled and learned what good food was all about.

Opening up the restaurant was not as easy as she and her husband Chris thought. There were many setbacks including being informed the day they were going to get the keys for the first restaurant they that the deal fell through. This was after working six months on getting everything the bank, escrow company, planning department and other agencies needed.

Still determined to own a restaurant, they found the current site and immediately had problems with the Rancho Cucamonga Planning Department and a “Grandfather Clause issue”. The next problem was with the Health department who took four months to approve their site. The biggest hurdle was yet to come, dealing with the large bank that was handling their loan. No one at the bank seem to know what was going on when she called to ask questions nor did they seem to care about helping Irene get answers she wanted and needed. She was told different lengths of time the loan would be ready and the process that should have taken a relatively short time took over 50 days to complete. Treating people with respect and showing a caring attitude is what Irene is all about and this negative experience reinforced her desire to treat all of her customers as she wanted to and expected to be treated.

Despite the stress, incompetence and delays that she and her family endured, Irene never lost her focus of opening her own restaurant and continued to maintain her positive attitude throughout the ordeal. The restaurant finally opened up on June 18th, 2010 and as luck would have it, she opened up during a period of time when the economy was really bad and many restaurants were closing down. Knowing Irene’s incredible drive and positive attitude, this was probably no big deal.

The first few months were hectic and things did not run all that well. Since she had no restaurant experience, she hired an experienced cook and her two sisters, one neice and her helped with the everyday operations. The customers loved the food and the restaurant but the biggest complaint from the customers was that they had to wait too long for their food. Shortly after sitting down with her staff and taking a look at how to make things run more efficient, more organized and cost effective while still providing quality food and friendly service where families could come for home-style food at affordable prices, things started to improve.

Although Irene is a very strong and determined woman who knows what she wants and goes after it with an insatiable energy level, she gives a lot of credit to her husband Chris who works full time during the day and who “let’s me be myself” and her family for the success of the restaurant. Chris who is just as humble and positive as his wife is smiled as he talked about Irene as being the “perfect” woman, wife and mother and the complement each other very well. “Despite all of the problems we had getting the restaurant opened, Irene and I never had a fight and feel that their great communications skills and trust in each other along with having positive attitudes helped this restaurant become a reality”.

After taking a few minutes absorbing the inspiring interview with this couple, I asked “What are her current expectations of the restaurant and future plans she has for it?” Irene felt that she is aware that the restaurant will never make me her and her family rich but as long as it helps pay her bills, she will be happy. As for future plans for the restaurant, she again displayed that big smile of hers and stated that “I want to spend more time marketing the restaurant and build up our catering business as well as open more Rock-A-Billy’s restaurants so that her sisters can have their own restaurants to own and operate”. My last question was right to the point “If you had to do it over again, would you?” Irene just looked me straight in the eyes and said in a strong and assertive voice “YES”. Talk about a real “Superwoman”!

Now that you know some insights into what the Gonzales family had to go through to, let’s talk a little about the restaurant. Rock-A-Billy Deli & grill is located in a corner of a commercial center and is all about fun and delicious breakfast and lunch items at very affordable prices.

The small 1020 sq. ft. restaurant seats around 16-18 people and is decorated in dark red (Irene’s favorite color”) white and black colors. The theme of the restaurant came from Irene and her husband’s enjoyment of jazz & blues from the late 40’s and 50’s. Themed music fills the airwaves while some period pictures and memorabilia hang proudly from the walls. Irene and her sisters also dress the part adding to the fun of the dining experience. In addition to helping to take orders, serving the food and helping out wherever needed, Irene makes it a point to stop by and talk to each customer as if they were family members.Frequent customers Chris & Cheryl Bailey of Rancho Cucamonga overheard my talking to Irene and just had to tell me that “We’ve been coming here since they opened because the food is very good, the staff are warm and friendly, they have met new friends who also dine here often and above all, they feel like family” It’s not uncommon for customers to sit and chat to each other well after devouring their food for hours at a time.

Open for breakfast and lunch only, the menu, like the owner is small but mighty. For breakfast you can order various combination plates with eggs, choice of meats and pancakes, four different breakfast burritos, two breakfast sandwiches as well as the popular Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich. Breakfast is served all day.

For lunch, may I suggest the Rockabilly Burger $4.25, a one-third beef patty on a homemade bun from a nearby bakery that is first put on the grill to get crisp and then stuffed with lettuce, tomato, pickles, mayo, mustard, ketchup, crisp bacon, a slice of American cheese and some terrific grilled onions that are grilled just enough to give each piece a sweet slightly carmalized sweet taste while still keeping that raw onion flavor.

Another fantastic item is the Hound Dog $3.95, a plump ¼ lb. all beef Hot Dog wrapped with smoky bacon and deep fried until crisp. The delicious re-designed hot dog is then nicely nestled in a soft sesame egg but with those great grilled onions, sweet relish, mustard, grilled strips of Serrano chilies. This was one delicious hot dog and one that I know you will love. Another terrific lunch items was the Tuna Melt Sandwich $4.75. This simple yet palate pleasing sandwich consisted of grilled sourdough bread with a delightful tuna salad and two slices of “real” Swiss cheese. The tuna had just the right amount of rich mayonnaise and minced celery and celery seeds to give the mixture that wonderful tuna salad taste and the toasted grilled sourdough bread and cheese just made the sandwich that much more exciting.

If you enjoy death defying super hot and spicy Buffalo Wings, $6.59, these will surely bring lots of tears of joy to you. Like most all of their other items offered on the menu, Irene also makes her own hot wing sauce.

The last sandwich I sampled was the Hip Ciabatta Sandwich $5.10, a Philly cheesesteak-like creation comprising of grilled steak (or chicken), Swiss cheese, lettuce and tomato in between the freshly baked chewy ciabatta bread.

For dessert, the offer a fresh fruit cobbler along with creamy rich vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and peanut butter milk shakes for only $2.99. Having some of the same attributes that Irene has namely the love and respect for food, the culinary field and people and the drive and energy she exhibits, I was really thrilled and inspired seeing people who have dreams, passion and a positive attitude succeed, and I know that I will be coming back again and again for some of that great food and try some of their new items that they will be added onto the menu shortly. Good luck Irene and Chris!