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Francisco and Sofia Rodriguez with their sons in front of Sunny & 77.
Are you in the mood for a hotdog, hamburger or even good old fashioned ice cream? Are you looking to sit down in a nice, small old-timey café and have a warm meal?
Francisco Rodriguez officially opened the Sunny & 77 on Saturday, Feb. 4.
Rodriguez said he and his wife decided to open a restaurant after he was in a bad accident.
“I was in a really bad accident, and I didn’t know if I was going to be able to go back to work,” he said. “So, we were thinking about starting some sort of fast food (place.)”
Rodriguez said he thought he would just make the place into a restaurant since the place used to me a Mexican-American restaurant called Chula’s.
He said he first went through and had inspectors inspect the restaurant and he officially got the keys back in August.
“We had quite of bit of renovations,” he said.
Francisco and his wife Sofia, repainted the restaurant, put new doors In and new tables.
Sunny & 77 is focused mainly on cooking American food.
“We knew there were already three Mexican-American restaurants here, so we figured we’d focus on something different,” said Rodriguez.
The restaurant menu includes: hamburgers, hotdogs, chicken wings, BLTs and ice cream.
“We have your typical American food,” Sofia said. “I don’t think anyone around here sells wings.”
Sofia said there used to be a Highway 77 & Grill drive-through across from the Circle-K, by the Little League field, but it’s now a ceramics shop
Sofia said a lot of people come back and say they remember the drive-through.
“Everybody comes back and everybody says, ‘Oh, I remember the 77’,” she said.
The old-restaurant used to sell the Mammoth burger, which they have brought back, which was popular some time ago, Francisco and Sofia said.
“We call it, ‘A throwback in time’,” Sofia said.
The Mammoth burger includes: two patties, Swiss cheese, cheddar cheese and Canadian bacon with vegetables.
Francisco said he think the restaurant will be there for a long time.
“I think we’re in it for the long run,” he said.
Sunny & 77 is open 11-8, Tuesday-Sunday. Breakfast is served all-day from Thursday through Sunday.
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