O’s Burgers Serves Up Hot Meals & Hometown Flavors
O’s Burgers Serves Up Hot Meals & Hometown Flavors
Norma Ozuna spent over a dozen years in the medical field working through the challenges of helping patients and assisting doctors at busy clinics and health care settings.
Ozuna had enough of working as a medical assistant after going through COVID-19 and the pandemic that followed. The events of 2020 and 2021 in experiencing COVID and its effects firsthand were overwhelming, she said. It gave Ozuna a new perspective on where to go from that era.
“It’s really true when people say life is short,’’ she said. “I wanted to do something that is ours.’’
In this case, it meant opening a family-owned business in Mercedes. O’s Burgers & More opened in early 2022 at a plaza on west Expressway 83 where it intersects with Mile 2 E Road. The 11 different types of burgers and variety of handmade wings come from owners with years of experience in the restaurant business. Ozuna’s husband, Eddie, currently works as an operations director for a well-know restaurant chain. In prior years, Norma and Eddie were regional managers in overseeing Star Drive-in outlets in South Texas.
“We know we’re going to work hard,’’ Norma Ozuna said. “Let’s work hard for something that’s ours.’’
Getting Known
It’s a family affair at O’s Burgers.
One of Norma’s sons is in the kitchen taking care of orders while a daughter mans the register. Grandchildren arrive at the restaurant after a school day and run to their grandmother and business owner for attention. It’s how Ozuna envisioned it in giving up a health care job to spend more time with her family. Ozuna’s children grew up knowing about the restaurant business and took to it rather effortlessly in supporting their mother’s new venture.
Developing a presence and a following in a hyper-competitive business field like restaurants is a challenge of which Ozuna was well aware of in opening O’s. In early 2022, her restaurant was the only one operating on that eastern edge of Mercedes just past the Rio Grande Valley Premium Outlets. Today, a busy travel center has opened adjacent to O’s and with it a Chick-fil-A and Wendy’s are now in the mix. Ozuna appreciates the added traffic to the area while acknowledging the added competition it brings.
“I feel like a lot of people still don’t know we’re here,’’ she said. “We’re gradually getting there. We are seeing a lot more traffic than before. More people are finding us and like that we offer a family-oriented atmosphere with freshly made food.’’
One Corpus Christi-area family did just that in traveling through the Rio Grande Valley recently. They left a hearty note of endorsement for O’s after enjoying their meal at the Mercedes restaurant.
“We came all the way from Corpus Christi, TX., to eat your delicious burgers! Thank you, the Solis Crew,’’ says the note taped up at O’s.
Rave Reviews
The Solis family is hardly alone in raving about the menu selections at O’s.
On Google reviews, Aaron Aboytes calls O’s “a hidden gem’’ that “by far is the best burger in the RGV.’’ Another reviewer, Alex Perez, said his meal “was perfectly cooked, it was fresh, juicy and served hot.’’ O’s was described as “a hidden gem’’ by a third reviewer, who added, “food was good, amazing service and the atmosphere there is awesome.’’
The positive feedback makes the business owner smile as she patiently moves forward seven days a week to make O’s a success in her hometown for locally-based customers as well as the commuters making their way across the Valley.
“We’re slowly getting up there,’’ Norma Ozuna said. “More people are coming this way and are curious when they drive by and see our business like ours. There’s a lot of growth going on in Mercedes and we want to be part of our community growing.’’
O’s Burgers & More is located at 7013 W. Expressway 83 and opens daily at 11 a.m.
– Ric Cavazos