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Goldrush Cafe will soon be back in business after briefly closing its doors when founder Virgil Sanchez, Sr. passed away last week.
The restaurant closed on May 3 after Sanchez died at the age of 81, and will reopen tomorrow, GuideLive reports. Sanchez’s five children will continue to run the cafe, as they’d already taken over daily operations several years ago. Sanchez founded the longtime East Dallas establishment in 1980. He was an electrical engineer and veteran of the Korean War, but he saw what his kids were doing in the service industry and decided to give it a try, converting an old doughnut shop into the cafe.
Gold Rush rose to the top of Dallas’ favorite greasy-spoons, featuring breakfast standbys with Tex-Mex influences like huevos rancheros or one of its best selling dishes, The John Wayne, with eggs, bacon, salsa, and cheddar cheese. The eatery is well-loved, as evidenced by its 4.7 star rating on Facebook and the reportedly huge customer turnout at Sanchez’s funeral. Positive reviews verbalize what many Dallasites feel makes the place so special.
“The customers range in age from the 30s to the 80s, and they have all been coming here for decades. I bet some of these folks would vote for Gold Rush to be their last meal on earth,” one commenter wrote in his five-star review. “You don’t get more of a comfort feel from a restaurant than this. It just puts a smile on your face. Their food is just right and their heart and hospitality are as big as Texas.”
Gold Rush cafe is set to return on Friday, May 11.
