ROBSTOWN, Texas — This restaurant is well known for its chicken salad sandwiches.
But Rod’n’Rollsoffers a menu stacked with goodness.
The restaurant got its name from owners Rodney and Roland, who wanted to follow a rock’n’roll theme.
Hence their name, complete with all the memorabilia from past times.
“One of the main challenges that we faced was having to close our parlor and transitioning to only being drive-thru,” said owner Zachary Zamora. “But fortunately, our community was able to transition with us.
“During COVID-19, we did not lose any employees. Fortunately, our employees stayed with us through the pandemic and we're very fortunate for that, and hopefully we can hire more along the way as we continue to grow the business.”
The restaurant has some specialties that customers can’t seem to get enough of on its menu.
“Here at Rod and Rolls we're famously known for our chicken salad made fresh daily and made to order,” Zamora said. “Many, many items here, but mainly known for our chicken salad.”
Some customers take their love of the chicken salad to extreme dedication.
“They come daily for it.” he said. “They come daily for the scoops, pints, quarts, gallons even.”
The menu doesn’t stop with the chicken salad.
“Not only do we sell food, we sell ice cream, desserts, we sell brownies, anything you can think of, desserts as root beer floats,” Zamora said.
Some of their workers have shown a strong dedication to keeping the business running.
“I’ve been working at Rod and Rolls for about six years,” employee Audrey Garza said. “I actually really enjoy it. I love coming to working every day, seeing the customers, all our regulars that we see every week. You know, it’s a fun time.”
Garza has another recommendation for a dining choice.
“I would say if you're coming by you at least have to try our Angus burgers and they come in for our sourdough bread.”
The restaurant has been getting customers to flock in from all over South Texas.
“We get a lot of out of town people, we get a lot of people from San Antonio just traveling by,” she said. “Calallen, Agua Dulce, Banquete, just a lot of places all over.”
Customers have their own choices for their favorite menu items.
“The grilled chicken sandwich,” said customer Alan Theriot. “Grilled chicken sandwich, by far. It’s what I always get.”
But customer Tommie Tilkerson has a different opinion.
“The chicken salad sandwiches for sure,” Tilkerson said.
The restaurant isn’t immune to the vagaries of the pandemic in terms of economics, making them grateful for their consistent customer base.
“Just as surrounding local businesses we are struggling but we've made it through this pandemic, and we're grateful for the schools, local refineries, local hospitals, local doctors’ offices, for bringing us the business, bringing us catering businesses," Zamora said. "We do appreciate that, and we're grateful for that and we are looking forward to serving the community. Thank you and we appreciate that.”
Rod’n’Rolls is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. It is closed on Sunday. It’s located at 324 West Avenue J (Highway 44) in Robstown and provides call-in, dine-in, and drive-thru business.
