Starting the morning off right

Jacksonville’s Los Rancheros now offers breakfast

By Julie Gerke

Jacksonville – Say buenos dias to breakfast in Jacksonville.

Los Rancheros, 1020 Lincoln Ave., will begin breakfast service Feb. 6, starting at 6 a.m. General manager Emanuel Lopez said the family-owned chain already offers breakfast at its Litchfield location and, “I’ve definitely been wanting to do this for a while” in Jacksonville.

The menu will offer traditional American breakfast fare, but with a Mexican twist: churro and tres leches pancakes, for instance, playing off the cinnamon and sugar dessert and three-milk cake. Lopez is also working on a kid-friendly menu. All items will be freshly made and from scratch, and (of-age) customers can avail themselves of mimosas and Bloody Marys.

Breakfast items will be available until 11 a.m., overlapping with the start of the lunch menu. The dinner menu is available until 9 p.m. Eventually, customers will be able to order breakfast items online and schedule delivery.

Staff will remain at about 15 full- and part-time workers, although that number could shift as the new hours gain popularity. Lopez said the breakfast prices will not reflect the recent national rise in egg prices and compared it to higher beef and pork prices during some stages of the Covid pandemic. “It will level out,” he said.

Los Rancheros continues to offer full bar service while its interior bar undergoes renovation, and Lopez looks forward to having it and the patio bar both open as warmer weather approaches. With the refreshed interior bar, the restaurant also will offer a wider array of draft beers and specialty margaritas.

Los Rancheros opened at its present Jacksonville location in 2009; the family first opened a Mexican restaurant in 1995 at Lincoln Square Shopping Center. The Lopez family also operates Los Rancheros restaurants in Mount Sterling, Litchfield, DeKalb, Springfield, Taylorville and Petersburg.

Share This