If you go
La Familia Mexican Restaurant is at 516 Chickamauga Ave. Call 706-956-3210 to learn more. To get La Familia through Dinner Delivered, call 423-634-8899 or visit DinnerDelivered.com.
Grand opening ceremony at La Familia Mexican Restaurant
› When: Friday, Feb. 26› Time: 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.› Where: 516 Chickamauga Ave., Rossville, Ga., 30741› Phone: 706-956-3210
La Familia Mexican Restaurant is the first sit-down restaurant - ever - to serve beer and wine in Rossville, Ga.
Well, just beer for the time being.
Ordering wine was too much of an initial capital outlay for the family that put in everything they have - with no help from outside investors - to open the new restaurant at 516 Chickamauga Ave.
"We definitely did not have the capital to start a restaurant," General Manager Paulina Martinez Diaz said. "It's definitely been a miracle."
To open the new restaurant, family members sold their cars and pitched in to redo the restaurant space with their own hands.
"I'm 27, and I went to live on my mom's couch," Martinez said. "That was no fun."
She said family members spent 10 months working until 2 or 3 in the morning after they got off their day jobs to redo the leased space that previously held Sherrill's, a combination TV and appliance repair, florist, cake and catering business. They painted, installed Sheetrock, lifted the ceiling for ambiance and better air circulation, redid booths and built some seating from scratch. There were no bathrooms, so the family hired help to install plumbing as well as upgrade the electrical system.
Customers appreciate the makeover, Martinez said, and have told her, "The place is so clean."
The food also is a hit.
"Great food," Rossville Mayor Teddy Harris said. "It's just phenomenal."
Menu items include the Lookout Mountain Burrito for $9.99 and Dad's Favorite Fajitas for $14.95 which feature "perfectly grilled steak, savory beef ribs, chicken, chorizo, shrimp, and tilapia."
Martinez's mother, Carmen Guzman - who earned a culinary arts degree from Georgia Northwestern Technical College in Rome, Ga. - is the chef. Martinez's father, Roberto Guzman, works at the restaurant as do Martinez's brothers, Moises Guzman, Josh Guzman, Manuel Martinez and Manuel's wife, Fatima.
Carmen Guzman said she and her husband migrated to the United States from Mexico City in the mid-1990s with only a backpack with three changes of clothes each. Neither of them knew how to speak English.
La Familia, which had a soft opening around the holidays, has lots of repeat customers, Martinez said.
"We really love the city. People are so appreciative," she said. "They've taken it personally to help us succeed."
The Rossville City Council made an ordinance change in 2014 at the request of the downtown development authority to allow beer and wine sales by the glass. The ordinance doesn't allow bars, Mayor Harris said, since the bulk of an establishment's sales have to come from food, not beer and wine.
La Familia will stock wine in time, Martinez said. La Familia Mexican Restaurant plans to begin hosting live music and karaoke soon. This summer, Martinez said they will put in garage doors and have a patio out front.
For now, the restaurant hopes to raise its profile, including through a grand opening Friday evening that will feature a ribbon-cutting and live music.
"The problem is not people coming back - they come back," Martinez said. "The problem is [to get] people coming in."
Staff Writer Katie Ward contributed to this story.
Contact staff writer Tim Omarzu at tomarzu @timesfreepress.com or www.facebook.com/MeetsForBusiness or twitter.com/meetforbusiness or 423-757-6651.