MARSHALL – More opportunities for summer fun are in the works as El Rancho Mexican Restaurant is undergoing an expansion project to include pickleball courts, sand volleyball courts and outdoor patio and bar.

The expansion is expected to be completed by the end of the summer,according to restaurant owners.

The new outdoor patio will feature 35 to 50 tables and is expected to raise maximum capacity from 300 to 400 customers, said Jose Leon, the co-owner of El Rancho. The patio will also feature a food truck and outdoor bar.

Included with the new courts and patio will be a full renovation of what the restaurant already has. That renovation will include a repainting, a new bar and more wheelchair ramps in all areas of the restaurant, Leon said.

The4 latest construction project follows the updating flooring inside the restaurant. .

“We’re hoping to make the restaurant better than it is,” said Martin Leon, who is a bartender and son of owners Jose and Maria Leon. “We don’t want to settle for what we’re at.”

According to the Leons, the pickleball courts, bean bag toss and sand volleyball courts will be available to anyone at any time.

“A lot of this is going to be a public service that’s connected to the restaurant,” Martin Leon said.

The Leons wanted to give back to the community who had supported them for so many years as a way to say thank you. Jose Leon said they also want to keep the restaurant vibe very casual.

“I want people to feel like they’re at their house,” Jose Leon said. “They can go outside, get some fresh air and enjoy our food.”

The Leons said they have been in talks with both Southwest Minnesota State University and Marshall Public Schools in hopes of having their volleyball teams potentially coming out for practice there.