by Monica Chamness
Staff Writer
Doña Maria Mexican Restaurant, Cantina and Grill officially opens today at the Landing after a trial run Thursday.
“We were open for four hours to try out the wait staff,” said Juan Benavides, one of the owners. “People sampled the food for free. It told us if we were prepared or not. Our computer went down and we had problems here and there, but nothing that couldn’t be taken care of.”
With a little help from his family — 10 people on the payroll are related to the owners — the wait staff and cooks are ready to bring their style of Tex-Mex to downtown diners.
Once a restaurateur in Texas, Benavides left the lagging economy of his hometown and headed east. On a visit to Jacksonville, Benavides decided to make this his home. The notion of serving up traditional dishes stuck with him, though.
“We saw that there was not enough Mexican restaurants for the population,” he said. “There was a demand and we came up with an idea where we can serve it better.”
The original plan was to situate a bakery, tortilla factory and restaurant on Laura Street, but problems with contractors killed the deal.
Now located next to Ruby Tuesday in the old Johnny Rockets site, the new venue occupies over 2,200 square feet with seating for up to 100 diners.
He said downtown revitalization was why he chose the Landing.
“As soon as we heard abut the Super Bowl and all those new condos, we went ahead and got everything ready,” said Benavides.
Reared in the restaurant industry, Benavides continues his mother’s legacy, who spent more than 20 years in the restaurant business.
“My mom was born in Mexico and came to America,” said Benavides. “She worked washing dishes in Mexican restaurants. She thought the food there was not as good as the way she had it growing up.
“These recipes have been in the family for years. I keep the same recipes and keep the customers happy. It doesn’t matter how the food tastes, if the service is not good, it’s not worth anything.”
Home-made tortillas, beans, tamales, tacos, chimichangas, steaks, soups, Mexican-style seafood, sopapillas and fried burritos with ice cream are featured on their menu.
The restaurant will be open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. with Mariachi bands performing two to three times a week.