Restaurants & Dining
A restaurant (/ˈrɛstərənt/ or /ˈrɛstərɒnt/; French: [ʀɛs.to.ʁɑ̃] (
listen)) is a business which prepares and serves food and drinks to customers in exchange for money, either paid before the meal, after the meal, or with an open account. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services, and some only offer take-out and delivery. Restaurants vary greatly in appearance and offerings, including a wide variety of cuisines and service models ranging from inexpensive fast food restaurants and cafeterias to mid-pricedfamily restaurants, to high-priced luxury establishments. In Western countries, most mid- to high-range restaurants serve alcoholic beverages such as beer and wine. Some restaurants serve all the major meals, such as breakfast,lunch, and dinner (e.g., major fast food chains, diners, hotel restaurants, and airport restaurants). Other restaurants may only serve a single meal (e.g., a pancake house may only serve breakfast) or they may serve two meals (e.g., lunch and dinner).
Laredo
Laredo (/ləˈreɪdoʊ/ lə-ray-doh; Spanish: [laˈɾeðo]) is the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, located on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 236,091, making it the tenth-most populous city in the state of Texas and third-most populated on the Mexico–United States border, after San Diego, California, and El Paso, Texas.[5] Its metropolitan area is the 178th-largest in the U.S. and includes all of Webb County, with a population of 250,304.[5] Laredo is also part of the cross-border Laredo-Nuevo Laredo Metropolitan Area with an estimated population of 636,516.[6]
Because Laredo is 95.6 percent Hispanic and Latino, it is one of the least ethnically diverse cities in the United States. When economic diversity, household diversity and social class diversity, are considered, Laredo is rated the 19th least diverse city overall out of the 313 largest cities in the nation.[7]
Laredo’s economy is based on international trade with Mexico. Most major transportation companies have a facility in Laredo. The city’s location on the southern end of I-35 close to the manufacturers in northern Mexico promotes its vital role in trade between the two nations. Laredo International Airport is within the Laredo city limits, while the Quetzalcoatl International Airport is nearby in Nuevo Laredo on the Mexican side.