Matt's El Rancho is one of America's most successful restaurants -- here's how

Editor’s note: The above video shows KXAN’s morning headlines for Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023. The story on Matt's El Rancho will air on KXAN Thursday afternoon.

AUSTIN (Austin Business Journal) -- Some may wonder if a 71-year-old restaurant has the vitality to keep up with Austin’s fast-changing food landscape and rising real estate costs.

But Matt’s El Rancho, an iconic Tex-Mex restaurant off South Lamar Boulevard — one of those places that would create a community-wide uproar if it ever closed — has staying power. It has the family members to sustain it for generations to come, and they're sitting on a license to print money.

Consider these numbers from the website Restaurant Business: Matt's consistently plays among the nation’s top 100 independent restaurants, ranking No. 43 right now. Matt’s served more than 630,000 meals last year, which is on par with New York City’s famous Tavern on the Green. With an average check of $31 and annual revenue clocked at $19.5 million, Matt's sales beat out hotspots such as the Chicago Cut Steakhouse in the Windy City, which hands customers an average bill of $120. BOA Steakhouse in Hollywood with its $125 average bill and Le Coucou in New York City with an average ticket of $207 can't touch Matt's annual sales, according to Restaurant Business.

Read the full story at Austin Business Journal.