El Acapulco Authentic Mexican Restaurant & Cantina is a place where the staff knows the names and food choices of its regular customers.
"We are very family oriented; I would say 90 percent of the staff is family," said Tonya Raymond, who along with Fernando Palma, manages the 2260 N. Westwood Blvd. restaurant. "A lot of our customers say that because we are so family oriented, our staff is so friendly.
"We tend to know our customers, our regulars, and when they come in, we know what they order ...what they drink."
The staff, Raymond said, also knows where their regular customers prefer to sit, as well as who is their preferred server.
"We have a lot of regulars, a lot," Raymond said. "... We just know who they are."
When the regulars, or any diners, come in, Raymond said, they have the choice of a full bar and a very large menu, as well as happy hour.
For the younger diners, "we have a large kids menu," which includes cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets, along with the Mexican choices, Raymond said.
Although El Acapulco doesn't have a signature dish, Raymond said, its Rachero Special is "our top seller.
"It's a bed of rice with your choice of chicken or shrimp or both" topped with sauteed bell peppers, tomatoes and onions, she said.
Then, "cheese dip is poured on top of all of it," she said.
Over the years, Raymond said, some dishes have been added, but "they're not on the menu.
"We've added specialities, like tacos de pescado, fish tacos, (but) they're not on the menu."
Raymond said the restaurant also has a number of customers who like its soups and request that non-menu item.
The soup choices, she said, have spread by word of mouth over the years.
"I've been here 10 years; we've got a couple who has been coming here ... (since) before me," Raymond said. " ... They went on their first date here.
" ... They always get the soup. She gets the shrimp, and he gets the chicken soup every time they come in,. and they come at least once a week."
The wait staff, she said, never has to ask for the couple's order. "We know what they order," she said.
Helping make that possible, Raymond said, is the fact the restaurant doesn't have a large turnover of its staff of about 20.
"Our staff stays typically," with a few new ones occasionally coming in, Raymond said. "Most of the time, you'll see the same faces every time you come in."
Since opening about 18-20 years ago by the Reyes family, "we do our best to try to make everyone feel at home when they come in and give them the best service we can," Raymond said.
El Acapulco, according to Raymond, has the only smoking section on the north end of Poplar Bluff.
"We've gained a lot in the smoking area, but it has deterred a lot of our non-smokers because you can smell it," Raymond said.
El Acapulco, she said, also can accommodate large gatherings.
Although the restaurant doesn't have a banquet room, she said, the staff can put together tables for large groups or parties.
Raymond said the restaurant hosts a lot of birthday parties each year, as well held the Mules softball banquet and the senior night for the soccer team this year.
"We are very involved in the sports programs," Raymond said.
El Acapulco, she said, donated the food daily for the Poplar Bluff Showdown basketball tournament.
"Then, when they won, we invited them here, and they ate here that night," she said.
El Acapulco is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.