Somerville’s Cantina La Mexicana has closed

Eating places

“Folks had been pouring in … to say goodbye,” stated Karina Rendón, the homeowners’ daughter.

A celebrated Mexican eatery in Somerville’s Union Sq. formally closed, however not with out giving a heartfelt farewell.

Cantina La Mexicana, a restaurant that has been a staple within the neighborhood neighborhood, held its final day of service on Saturday. The rationale for the closure was twofold: the enterprise confronted steep competitors from different eating spots, and it didn’t efficiently negotiate the extension of its lease, in response to Karina Rendón, the daughter of homeowners Robert and Carolina Rendón.

Earlier than bidding goodbye to their devoted patrons, Cantina held one final occasion on Sunday, pouring out margaritas and alluring Good Hassle Brass Band to carry out music.

“It was fairly overwhelming,” Rendón stated. “Folks had been pouring in since early afternoon to say goodbye. They didn’t even wish to eat. They simply needed to say goodbye, to speak to my dad in regards to the fantastic reminiscences that they’d there. As soon as 5 o’clock hit, it simply blew up.”

The Somerville restaurant had been open since 1995. The rationale for the closure was partly as a result of problem of maintaining with different Mexican eating places within the space, Rendón stated. Whereas lots of them are “aesthetically pleasing” and carry out effectively on Instagram, Rendón stated that her dad and mom are “old skool, and [believe that] so long as the meals is nice, that’s all that actually ought to matter.”

However this was not the principle motive for the closure, Rendón stated. Within the aftermath of the household’s unsuccessful negotiations to increase the lease, they had been in the end informed to vacate the constructing, leading to what she known as the “compelled retirement” of her dad and mom, she added. Earlier than receiving the information that they must depart, Rendón stated that her dad and mom weren’t pondering of closing Cantina.

“This was sort of a shock,” she stated. “Sure, competitors was coming, however [we] had been attempting to determine methods to evolve and get extra individuals to return by way of the door.”

Each Rendón’s dad and mom are immigrants. Her father emigrated from the Mexican metropolis of Matamoros to the US on the age of 10 years outdated, and her mom moved from the state of San Luis Potosí in Mexico to the US at 16 years outdated. They each met in Texas. Once they opened Cantina, they prided themselves on serving genuine meals that wasn’t “refined or fancy,” however resembled dwelling cooking, Rendón stated. For years, devoted patrons frequented Cantina, and lots of neighborhood members would maintain events, receptions, and graduations there.

A few of their hottest menu gadgets are the tamales, which got here crammed with hen, pork, or inexperienced beans and spinach, Rendón stated. Clients additionally cherished the tacos, notably the pork al pastor, Baja fish, and steak. The enchiladas, one visitor informed Rendón’s mom, had been just like what they’d discover again dwelling in Mexico.

Rendón stated that what she’s going to miss probably the most is the neighborhood.

“I really feel like there was nowhere else in Somerville the place you bought that sense of neighborhood. There’s simply so many good individuals,” she stated. “My dad did a very good job of connecting everybody. He would meet somebody and ask about their life story [and] historical past. He would say, ‘I do know an individual who has a job for you.’ ‘I do know an individual who you must speak to.’”

Her dad and mom will retire, she stated, and transfer to Texas. “It’s a time for relaxation,” she stated.

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