Yahoo Finance This Mexican restaurant has been around nearly 100 years. Here's how Rosita's Place endures.
On McDowell Road and 24th Street in Phoenix, a sign emblazoned with a pink scrawl beckons passersby to Rosita's Place, "Established in 1964."
The patio hasn't always overlooked McDowell Road, but it's been called Rosita's from the very beginning.
"The name Rosita's comes from the owner before the Delgados," said MaryLou Medina, the current owner, whose parents purchased the restaurant from Alex and Maria Delgado in 1964. She pointed to a 1947 map of Phoenix hanging in the restaurant's waiting area. "She owned it at least at the end of the Second World War, so Rosita's has been around for almost 100 years. Subsequent owners kept the name for good luck," she said. "We are the family that's had it the longest."
With the emergence of Phoenix Civic Plaza, the restaurant had to relocate from downtown Phoenix to 18th Street and Buckeye in the early 1970s and was forced to move again to the current location, a former Chinese restaurant on McDowell Road, in 1989 when the entire area was purchased for Sky Harbor Airport's construction.
The restaurant grew from nine stools at the downtown location to 12 tables in Buckeye to 24 at the current location.
"I've heard my mom's story from my godmother on her deathbed," MaryLou said of her mother Micaela, who was known as Mickey. "When she moved here from Mexico in the '50s, she was by herself and looking for a job. At that time, you either went to the radio station or newspaper if you were looking for a job. She went to the only Hispanic newspaper, El Sol. They sent her to Rosita's next door, which at the time was on Washington and Third in downtown Phoenix. My mom became really good friends with the daughters of the owners and lived with their grandmother. We still see them. She met my dad working at Rosita's."
Rosita's Place serves Phoenix comfort food
On a recent visit, the blue door with a bright yellow border opened into a diminutive waiting area with a hostess stand made of logs. Streamers the colors of the Mexican flag hung over a candy case. The area gave way to two vibrantly painted dining rooms with walls filled with framed old photos of Mexican revolutionaries like Pancho Villa and Zapata, photos of departed loved ones, paintings and news articles about Rosita's Place. The bar area sat at the back of the first dining room and behind it a party room.
MaryLou glided seamlessly between waiting tables, making drinks at the bar and checking guests in or out at the hostess stand. "Oh honey, I do it all." Silverware clinked, conversations pierced by occasional guffaws. On the way out, a patron stopped to tell her three companions, "I love it. They are the best," while another guest entered, stopping to greet MaryLou with a hug. "Everything is so good, I'd come here in 116-degree weather."
The food that draws a steady stream of regulars reflects their tastes.
"My parents didn't have a certain cuisine because at that time it was what they could get," said MaryLou. She remembers taking trips to Nogales with her family to find ingredients. "There wasn't the availability of spices we have now, so the food was a combination of what they could get here made into comfort food. If you are looking for a good chicken soup, we have it. So many people love it."
The restaurant caters to the culture it functions in. Alongside cocido and menudo, it also serves wings and burgers. And the menu has continued to evolve over the years. "Oh my God," MaryLou said. "My mom would never think of doing loaded nachos or carne asada fries."
When it comes to Rosita's Mexican cuisine, MaryLou knows people are divided. Some customers bring their friends for "authentic Mexican food," while others complain that it's not like the dishes they remember from back home. But the ones who love it, stay with it.
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Regulars are used to rubbing shoulders with celebrities and politicians
"We have such a diverse clientele and that's what I love," said MaryLou. "You could have your landscaper sitting next to the CEO of Banner."
Celebrities, like Paul Rodriguez and Rob Lowe, have dined there along with politicians like former governor Doug Ducey, Janet Napolitano and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
"He announced running for presidency and had lunch with community leaders at Rosita's Place in November 2019," MaryLou said, adding that she had only 24 hours to prepare. "I had never seen so many news outlets in the same place and all I could think about was how in the world will our plugs handle the electrical demand. But what an honor for a small business owner to be selected for the event."
Even more important are the regulars who keep coming back.
"I've seen three generations come to the restaurant over the years," MaryLou said.
Brisa Molina Medina, the owner's cousin, who has worked at Rosita's for more than 30 years, said her first customers kept returning and would occasionally remind her of the first time she waited on them, hands shaking from nervousness. Regulars often ask for their favorite server and if the person no longer works there, Brisa and MaryLou fill in and "try to give them our best service," she said.
Near the entrance, a customer letter dated 2019, is taped to the wall. The note reads: "For twenty years, every Saturday morning we'd come in for red menudo and chips and salsa — the best in Phoenix." The couple retired, left Phoenix and returned years later. "We of course had to have our usual at Rosita's ... Nothing had changed. Breakfast was just as we remembered. Thank you for that."
The future of Rosita's Place is uncertain. And MaryLou Medina is just fine with that
Whereas MaryLou's mother didn't want her in the kitchen, MaryLou has always encouraged her three kids and eight grandkids to participate at the restaurant. And though she'd love to keep the business in the family, she only wants to pass it along if her children want to run it. If not, she's at peace with selling the place.
Her daughter Anais Sorkhabi started working at the restaurants in 2009. "Some of the customers have seen my kids and now their kids growing up." Her one rule is that there's no talk of business once they are home.
For MaryLou Medina, Rosita's Place is more than a restaurant. It's a place to preserve happy family memories and create new ones.
"You're going to remember your grandma," she said. "You're going to remember your aunt or a certain family member who used to cook for you. The whole place reminds me of my family, of my mom and dad and everything they cooked."
Reach the reporter at BAnooshahr@azcentral.com. Follow @banooshahr on X, formerly Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Mexican restaurant Rosita's Place serves a taste of Arizona history
