The grand opening of the new store was graciously emceed by one of the biggest fans of the Notre Dame Fightin' Irish, Mr. Humberto "Beto" Garza who vowed to bring something back from South Bend to proudly display at the new sports bar.
When asked about the opening of this new store and what it means to the franchise, Bill Williams, Director of Operations had the following to add:
"First of all, the location on Main is the highest volume restaurant we have in our system and it's also the third highest volume restaurant in the city or in the entire nation. Opening this one is going to be a big thrill for us, it certainly gives Eagle Pass the look of a new concept altogether with full sports bar and allowing customers to come in and try something new at Pizza Hut."
We caught up with Pat Saucedo, General Manager of Mall de las Aguilas who also gave his comment on the grand opening of this, Pizza Hut's third location in Eagle Pass, "Echoing the mayor's statements, we are pleased to have the second Pizza Hut location housed here at the mall. The frist location on Main came in 1874, they were at the mall once before and we're glad to have them back."
Efraín Escamilla: District Manager enthusiastically gave us his impression of their hope for the continued success of their Eagle Pass locations, "It all has to do with the leadership in the company. Gonzalo has provided the leadership and has run a great operation as one of the top performing managers in the company.
"Originally what we wanted to do was expand the existing building, but now we got the opportunity to take over this locale, it's a great location and I'm looking forward to having the same results here that we did in the other store.
We mentioned the fact that it's very difficult to open any new business or business endeavor, it doesn't hurt to have a big name behind this one.
"The brand has been around since 1958 and it's evolved over the years. We're the largest pizza chain in the entire world, so the brand continues to grow.
A brand is only as good as its product and there is nothing on the market as what many consider to be the key to the success of the brand thus far, its exquisite pan crust pizza which was unofficially endorsed in the movie Selena by Tejano music's biggest female star.
"You are absolutely right. I've been with the company for twenty-odd years and I can look people in the eye and say I still love pizza and my favorite is our pan pizza. Selena Quintanilla's favorite pizza was Pizza Hut pan pizza."
When told of the relation between sports and wings, Escamilla weighed in on one of Pizza Hut's newest menu items.
"Nowadays wherever you go there are wings on the menu. This is a sports bar, a full-blown bar where you can actually come in here and get a margarita, a nice cold beer or even a shot of tequila and we have a lot of TV's. As a matter of fact, we will be able to put on as many as eight NFL football games on at one time, so no matter who you root for, your game will be on here. It's a great place to come to just have fun. Get the word out, we've got the best place in town and I appreciate everything the people of Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras have done for us. Welcome to Pizza Hut/Wing Stop, we really appreciate everyone's business."