Couple reopens The Cupboard in Lebanon City, keeps longtime menu while adding Honduran dishes

Daryl Mendoza and Wilson Mendoza reopened The Cupboard restaurant in downtown Lebanon City, preserving much of the longtime diner menu while introducing Honduran-inspired dishes drawn from Wilson Mendoza’s heritage. The couple also operates the Hungry’s food truck and said their local and regional food‑truck work helped build the customer base that supported the restaurant reopening.

The change matters because The Cupboard, in operation in some form for more than five decades, is a familiar downtown presence and a gathering place for regulars. The Mendozaes said they intentionally kept the restaurant’s name and many signature items to honor that history while adding occasional Honduran items — for example, a dish they call the Lucinda, plantains, empanadas and a Honduran-style spaghetti — to widen choices for existing and new customers.

The couple traced their path to the storefront to years of food‑service experience, community connections and work with a food truck. Wilson Mendoza described the food-truck menu as “American food with a Honduran twist,” designed to be familiar enough for broad appeal while introducing fresh ingredients and Central American flavors. Daryl Mendoza said the pair leaned on a network of community support and longtime customers when the opportunity to take over The Cupboard arose.

Operational details discussed include: keeping the restaurant’s established name in recognition of its 50‑plus years of local history; offering some “heritage” menu items on certain days; and planning to phase in food-truck items that translate well to the restaurant kitchen. The Mendozaes reported being “very busy” since reopening, serving a mix of regulars who know their orders and new customers drawn from area events and regional traffic. They said the food truck did roughly 25 events in the first six months after it started and that customers have driven from multiple states to visit, which the couple credits to word‑of‑mouth and online reviews rather than highway advertising.

The couple said staffing and service continuity have been priorities: they retained a cook who worked at The Cupboard previously, and Daryl Mendoza has taken a front‑of‑house role to maintain personal contact with regular customers. They described constraints common to small food businesses — for example, occasional waits when the kitchen is slammed and limits on what can be produced during short staffing — and emphasized carryout as an option for customers when dining waits are long. They also noted community outreach: the food truck serves as a presence at local events, and the couple plans occasional dine‑to‑donate and pantry events.

The Mendozaes credited former operators and local partners with facilitating the transition. They named Miss Mary and Dan Creech among earlier owners/operators who helped ease the handover, and they thanked local pharmacy staff and other downtown businesses for daily support. They also described challenges in accessing traditional small‑business financing earlier in their careers but said community support and steady demand helped the business move forward.

For customers, the menu retains familiar diner items (tenderloin, BLT, breakfast plates and “haystack” breakfast) while adding rotating Honduran items, plantains, empanadas and occasional large‑plate dinners on Fridays. The couple said they intend to expand the Honduran offerings gradually, prioritizing consistency and customer trust before introducing more unfamiliar items.

The episode concluded with the Mendozaes describing Lebanon City as home and promising to continue blending tradition with new flavors as they scale the restaurant’s offerings and community activities.