There is a restaurant in the Rio Grande Valley that's known for more than just good food.

When you walk in, you'll immediately notice a great atmosphere and get treated like family.

The Monte Carlo Café in Donna is celebrating 65 years of serving people all over the RGV.

"It's the generation of three women really and truly, Criprana Rodriguez, which was my mother, me, and now my daughter, Sylvia Ann," Monte Carlo Café owner Sylvia Garza said. "We love what we do, it's a lot of work, but we love it."

The Monte Carlo Café got its start as a restaurant in 1960 and has been going strong for decades.

Sylvia and her family own the iconic restaurant. Her daughter has taken over the business for now, but Sylvia still likes to stick around.

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"We love to greet our customers. Now I do PR work, I sit here, and I sit over there, and I just entertain the customers, but it's been a journey," Sylvia said.

A journey that has gained the Monte Carlo Café several awards and recognitions, including from Senator Ted Cruz, Congressman Vicente Gonzalez, the Texas Historical Commission and many more.

"I'm so proud of it, because here we are, 65 years later, and I don't want to say we're booming, but we are. I mean, thank God, you know, we've had a lot of customers, a lot of winter Texans that come in," Sylvia said.

Sylvia adds that people from across the Valley make the drive to Donna for a good meal.

"We started off as a small restaurant. It was just the community, people from Donna, but now, we have people from Harlingen, Mercedes, McAllen, that they know about us," Sylvia said.

She says people in the Valley have embraced local restaurants.

"People have now accepted the small mom pop restaurants. It's not just going to the big restaurants, Chilis, here and there, it's just different, homemade food," Sylvia said.

Right now they have only four people working the kitchen, but just know that every time you walk into Monte Carlo, you'll be greeted with a smile.

From their famous enchiladas to their tacos and meat loaf, the Monte Carlo has both American and Mexican cuisine.

The Monte Carlo Café is made in the 956.