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'We are very close' — Family-run restaurant shares Hispanic culture with Lycoming County

A restaurant in Lycoming County has been displaying its Hispanic heritage for nearly a decade in central Pennsylvania.

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Don Patron Mexican Grill sits just outside the city limits of Williamsport. Owner Miguel Santos has spent nearly 25 years working in the food industry in the United States, nine of which have been spent in Lycoming County.

"I am very surprised how the people accept us here, and we have a pretty good business."

When you walk into the restaurant, you are greeted by the sights and sounds of Guadalajara, Mexico. Every summer, Santos takes a trip back to his hometown and brings back a piece of art to display in his restaurant, one of the ways he shares his Hispanic heritage with customers.

"Everybody loves it. Everybody is like, 'Oh, you went to Mexico? What's new? What's new?' and I say, 'I got those chandeliers, the two skeletons at the front door,' or whatever I bring, I let them know."

Three generations of the Santos family work here.

"My father works with me; my son does, my other son also, and my wife used to work. So, basically, we have most of our family working here."

Miguel Santos Jr. is a big part of the restaurant's success. He says part of his heritage is having a bond with his family.

"It is very important for us, our people, to be together. I think it is one of the best features we have. We are very close, and that has always been my family. We are close."

The restaurant employs a range of people from different Hispanic communities. There are employees from Venezuela and Honduras as well.

"They are not necessarily family, but they come to work here, and over time, they become family. Because we are here all the time and talking and supporting each other in whatever we are doing," Miguel Santos Jr. said. "It is just a beautiful thing, and I feel like that is because of my heritage."

In the kitchen, cooks are hard at work keeping up with orders. The recipes and ingredients are inspired by home-style cuisine found in Guadalajara.

"The cheese to the burrito sauce to the enchilada sauce, everything we try to make as organic to home as possible," Santos Jr. added.

"When they come here, I want them to feel like a family," Santos Sr. said. "Like you are going to your mother's house or your grandmother's house, make you feel welcome."

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