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La Familia is celebrating its first anniversary with a free community party with live music and food from 5-10 p.m. Dec. 3. The Martinez family encourages residents to come see the restaurant and experience the atmosphere firsthand.
Rossville residents will soon have the opportunity to vote on whether they would like to be able to order a margarita or cocktail with their meal as well as purchase beer on Sundays.
Following requests by La Familia Mexican Restaurant and Mega Star convenience mart, Mayor Teddy Harris said the City Council decided it was time to let residents weigh in on whether to allow liquor consumption in designated establishments and packaged sales of malt beverages and wine on Sundays.
Co-owner and general manager of La Familia Paulina Martinez said she knows the request is a touchy subject for many residents in the area. However, she hopes they will consider the economic impact of the decision.
"A lot of people are against it because they're worried it will bring crime," she said of the liquor-by-the-drink proposal. "But this is not a bar. There are grandmothers here; my mom is here cooking, my brothers are here. We're a family - that's why it's called La Familia."
Not allowing liquor to be consumed in such establishments is already hurting the area, she said.
" People will go to Chattanooga, take tax money to Chattanooga, if they can't have that margarita with their food. And that's depressing the city. It's hurting our city. We're trying to change that."
With her family's restaurant offering authentic Mexican food based largely on her mother's personal recipes, Martinez said she has started to see a customer base coming from the Chattanooga area, even as far as Hixson.
"In the restaurant business, when you think of Mexican food you think of margaritas, and a lot of people are looking for that," Martinez said. "Since a lot of recipes are Mom's recipes, we get people who wouldn't normally come to Rossville who come here just for the food - and they want margaritas."
Martinez stressed the importance of selling liquor responsibly, the same way she said her restaurant sells beer. She added that the end goal is for the restaurant to do well so she and her family can reinvest in the community that has supported them.
"As we grow and gain exposure and work to develop in the community, we want to help revitalize Rossville and gain exposure," she said. "We're a Christian family and as we grow we want to give back. The better we're doing, the more we can do that. But there's a very, very small profit margin with food, and not everyone wants to drink beer."
The special vote for both resolutions 644 and 645, which would allow for liquor consumption on premises and Sunday package sales of wine and beer, respectively, will take place in March. The date has not yet been determined.