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Help Pablos Restaurant Crystal Lake

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My wife Jennifer Falbo is a real Angel with a heart as big as the sky. She has spent her life saving stray dogs, and others living things from uncertain fates.  Well five years ago when we were only married two years her boss, the original owner of Pablo's Mexican Restaurant was set to close the restaurant leaving 37 people in the community without a job, a staple in the community was set to close. He had lost the desire and the interest to continue on with the economy in bad shape and the food costs rising, rent rising it felt all too overwhelming.  She came to me and asked if I would help her purchase Pablo's Mexican Restaurant. At first I thought she was just kidding. after all Who buys 30 year old equipment and 10 years worth of debt and forgotten or discarded unopened bills?  The reputation of the Restaurant was all that had value.  Everything else was gonna take some real elbow grease and a great team to pull out of the mess that we were about to purchase.  My wife Jen, being who she is was eager to make sure that the people and the community were not gonna lose the best Mexican Restaurant in McHenry county.  I put her in the right position to purchase the restaurant, and she did it.  At first when the community found out that a server became the owner, the place was filled with people and things were good. However the inevitable had happened sooner than later.  Equipment started to fail, replacement costs for restaurant equipment is very expensive. It felt like the entire place had gremlins in the middle of the night come in and toss the place.  Food costs were still rising. One time avocados went from 30 dollars a case to 100 overnight. How can you sell guacamole for ten times less than you pay for it.  We give away over $3,000.00 dollars worth of Chips and Salsa for free just when you walk in the door.  Once we tried to only offer one basket of chips free and our patrons were not happy.  Steak is our main ingredient to most of our delicious plates, Carne Asada, Steak Fajitas, steak Burros, Quesadillas. Well it used to be 4.99 a pound and now its 15.99 a pound. I am not sure if you have ever tried our Steak items, but our steak is by far more delicious than any other place.  Our cooks trim more fat off than any other and they really make it the best in town.  I have been to countless Mexican Restaurants where Iv'e ordered a steak item, and every third bite, I chew on a piece of fat that tastes like rubber. That never happens at Pablos Mexican Restaurant.  Pablos has had the Best Award winning Margaritas for more than 30 years.  Pablo's Mexican Restaurant has been serving the Crystal Lake community since 1986.  Once last year we considered closing the doors and my wife asked me as we were having trouble buying food for the week and paying payroll and taxes and the water bill and the gas bill and the electric bill etc.  She asked me in our darkest hour, She asked me what I wanted to do for Christmas.  I honestly has no answer cause I knew it was gonna be a tough one without money to get presents or even buy a Christmas dinner, She asked me if I would help her open Pablos on Christmas Day to help feed the homeless people in our community, but in the comfort of a sit down restaurant to give food, and peace to those less fortunate, to give thanks for those that served out country.  This is my wife!!  I cried so hard, My wife, is about to lose it all and she wants to help those less fortunate than her with the only resource she has left.   The lights and the gas were still on.  She asked the community to help, and the outpour of help was unbelievable. For a couple weeks, the Christmas music really meant what it was about the restaurant was full again with people helping out and friendships being made by volunteers, and Christmas day was Amazing We touched some lives in the community.  It would be a terrible loss to the community to not have a place like Pablo's Mexican Restaurant. A place where the owner has the biggest heart Iv'e ever seen.  A place that really serves the community and not for personal gain but for the overall gain of a community.  Pablo's Mexican Restaurant really now more than ever needs help from its community.  Any donations to this fund will be used to cover overdue and unpaid bills, purchase much needed equipment, buy food  and get Pablo's back on its feet again.  It will be nice to see the woman who gives her all, get something back from her community.
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Donations 

  • Renee Bruning
    • $50 
    • 5 yrs
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Organizer

Freddie Falbo
Organizer
Crystal Lake, IL

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