Being Part of A Family Restuarant

The El Charro Restaurant, located a mere 100 yards from a major railroad crossing in Lordsburg, NM, is not only rich with local history and lore, but is also an establishment that has deep and long-lasting family ties. The historic businesses, one of the oldest in Hidalgo County, was started back in 1944 by twin sisters Inez and Irene Barka, who were married to brothers Franklin and Raymond Hood (Greene). This unique and authentic restaurant has remained in the family and continues to be managed by their grandchildren to this day.
Not only is "El Charro" a well-recognized name in the community, as is the authentic, and often spicy, Mexican food on the menu, but it is also the oldest commercial building in the city of Lordsburg. When the twins first decided to open this restaurant they were in a much smaller building than the restaurant sits in today, located about a block away from the current location. Their initial desire to open a restaurant stemmed from the fact that the family also owned two bars, the Maverick Lounge and the Monterrey. It only made sense to them that with these two busy saloons next door, a restaurant could be a successful business venture as well. Coming from a large family, the twins were two of 21 children, they were very familiar with cooking for a crowd and had both grown to be very good cooks.
Once the doors of the El Charro Restaurant were officially opened, it was Inez' husband, Franklin, who managed the business while the women worked diligently behind the scenes. Today, it is Franklin and Inez's five grandchildren who own and continue to run the business. In talking to the Hoods today, they firmly believe that the business would not have survived, or continued to be as the twins originally envisioned it, if it had not remained within the family.
To drive over those railroad tracks and see the old, iconic building is a genuinely priceless feeling. When you gaze up at the old neon lights on the top of the building that read “REAL MEXICAN FOOD”, you feel as though you have stepped back in time when that sign was used to attract people off of the freeway, which at one time ran right through the middle of town. As soon as you step foot inside the building you are bombarded with the wonderful, comforting smells of what may be green chili simmering on the stove, tacos sizzling on the grill or even menudo in the making.
Today, the restaurant has one bar attached to it, The Maverick Lounge, so there is a drinking and non-drinking side in the restaurant itself. Both sides look the same as they did nearly 70 years ago--the original old formica tables, vintage chairs and cozy booths still remain. After you seat yourself, your waitress, who is, chances are related to the owners somehow, will bring you an order of the establishment's famous chips and salsa. Those who have moved away from Lordsburg always make time to return to El Charro when visiting, most saying they've missed most the chips and salsa, which is uniquely served with pats of butter to cut down on the heat.
Regulars know what they want off the menu without even looking. "I'll take a #14 Green" is a very common phrase uttered in El Charro. But newcomers are delighted as well, although they are not familiar with the menu. They often ask the waitress "What's good?" The waitresses always answer very honestly, "Everything!" And that is the absolute truth. If you love authentic Mexican food, anything you order will be the best you've ever eaten, as the El Charro cooks take great pride in their work.
Just think about the amazing accomplishment of keeping a business afloat for 67 years. Throughout the decades, there have been hardships, the Hoods point out. It was that deep family bond, however, that they attribute to the continued success of the family-owned restaurant.
The most difficult financial hardships have come in recent years, thanks not only to the economic crisis in the country, but also to changes in management and weather disasters that a 67-year-old adobe building could not bear (Greene). Although these things may have appeared to be sometimes overwhelming setbacks, the family trudges forward, doing what they have to do to continue the legacy created by their grandparents during a time when hard work and determination could make or break a business.
All family members are almost expected to work in some capacity at the restaurant, as soon as they are old enough to do so. In my immediate family, my father remembers working on the roof at age 8, carrying roofing rolls up a ladder to help his father make repairs. He later went on to manage the neighboring Maverick Lounge before leaving for the Army after graduation.
I, personally, learned to waitress at the El Charro Restaurant and continue to do so on my breaks from school to earn a little extra cash. Although it's not a career I would like to depend on, it has taught me a trade I could fall back on, as well as garnering within me a respect for food service employees.
Deeper than that, however, I am filled with pride when I am working there and someone asks about the history of the business. “Who started this?” they might ask. I answer, “My dad’s grandmother and aunt nearly 70 years ago!" To be able to share this legacy with others means a lot to me. Not just because it is in my family, but because I am so aware that family ties really do make connections stronger. Most restaurants you work at are considered "just a job" but when working at the El Charro Restaurant you know that you are family, even if you biologically aren’t. You get yelled at, like family, but you are also cared for and loved in the process. When you start you figure, “oh I’m family they will be nice” but this is so wrong, whenever you mess up the cooks will yell at you. If you start in the evening, all evening they will yell at you for one thing or another, but when the day is over and everyone is getting ready to go home they all tell you “you did a very good job considering it is your first day.” This is a huge sigh of relief, it’s almost like a passing a test you thought you failed. At that moment you also realize that they are just being hard on you in order to help you get better, just like family does.
People who have never been to Lordsburg should definitely make plans to go to the El Charro Restaurant so they can experience the great food and hear about the history of this wonderful family restaurant.











Work Cited
Greene, Brenda. Announcement. Hidalgo County Herald, 2011. Print.

Greene, Brenda. El Charro, Maverick Lounge going strong after more than 60 years in business. Hidalgo County Herald, 2001. Print.