Matt's El Rancho Interview

[BEGIN INTERVIEW] [00:00:00]

Scott Pryor (SP): My name is Scott Pryor and today is March 10th, 2012, and I am here at Matt's El Rancho.

Letisha Brown (LP): My name is Letisha Brown and it is March 10th and I am here at Matts El Rancho with Scott and the lovely three sisters and mother.

Cathy Kreitz (CK): My name is Cathy Kreitz and it's March the 10th, 2012 and I am here at Matt's El Rancho.

Gloria Reyna (GR): My name is Gloria Reyna and uh, it's March the 10th, and I'm here at El Rancho in Austin, Texas.

Cecilia Muella (CM): Hello my name is Cecilia Muela and its March 10th and I'm [Laughs] at El Rancho Restaurant.

Janie Martinez (JM): My name is Janie Martinez and I'm here at Matt's El Rancho.

SP: Wonderful. Well like Letisha said, thank you all for agreeing to do this interview. We're excited to hear stories about the restaurant today.

Just like to start with some general, where is your family from? Have you all been in Austin your whole life? A little bit about your family background.

GR: Well, we were all born here in Austin, and um, guess we're first-second generation family that's been living here in Austin, Texas.

SP: Okay. Where was your family before Austin?

JM: I was here-I'm the mama. I'm the mother, so we're here, we been here, so I call ourselves homegrown, okay.

CK: Yeah, Mom was born in Austin as well. Dad was born in San Antonio, was he not? But if you mean-do you mean like previously?

SP: Previously, yeah.

CK: Um, your mother [Looks at her mother] was from San Luis Potosí [Mexico]-

JM: My mother, so was my father.

CK: And then, our father's-Matt Martinez-his family was from Monterey, Mexico.

SP: I'd like to start out just hearing a little bit about your family's history in the restaurant business. Because I know it even goes beyond you, Janie, with your, with-Matt's father had a restaurant, right?

JM: Yes.

SP: Could y'all just say some about the family's history?

JM: Well, we come here, and we attend school here and then my husband enlisted into the service in the First World War [Second World War] so I was a young lady just working here in Austin. And five years later he came back, and he asked me to marry him, so I did. Then before he left, he had a part time job with Seton Hospital, with a dietician kitchen. I don't know how many years he worked there, but that was his job before he enlisted in the service. Before then, I don't know too much about him. But I did meet him and so I wait for him, and he came back and we got married.

We were married and had, uh, my son, Matt Martinez, Jr., he was born, and then Gloria Marie was the second child, and then some five years later, Cecilia came along. And then he decided that he always thought about opening up a restaurant. And I said-he told me what he was thinking. And he thought that, uh, if I could help him, and I said, "No I don't think so because I don't know anything about the restaurant business." He says, "Don't you worry about a thing. The way you're cooking for me and my children I think you would be great." So I said "Okay, let's go for it." So he started looking for a place.

SP: And then you opened it up in 1952, right?

JM: Yes.

SP: Was there a specific day? What was the first day?

JM: We, uh, July the 7th, 19-

GR, CK, CM: 1952.

JM: 1952, okay.

SP: And didn't Matt used to sell tamales, when he was uh, a little boy?

JM: When he was a young man his father used to cook for the home, because he had eight children and the mother had passed away. So he cooked and the children, the sons would go out and sell the tamales. They go towards the capital, down Congress Avenue. And they were, I don't know what they saw, but that's what they did, for a time, for his daddy. And uh, they sold tamales, popcorn and pralines, pralines, homemade pralines. And that was their part time job, so everybody was working.

SP: And did Matt's father make the tamales and the pralines?

JM: He did, but he also was training some ladies to cook, to cook the food. And they cooked different things, but the most popular thing was the tamales and the chili.

And my husband knew had to cook the chili very well. And after we opened up the restaurant, I told him that the main thing I know how to cook was plate lunches, that's what we call them, plate lunches. That's one meat, vegetables, and different kinds of starches, and so on and so on; and that's what I cooked for the children. So he says, "That's fine, we can start with that, but we also are going to serve some Mexican food." I said, well let's see what we can do. Let's don't make too much of anything, because we're just trying out. So that's what we did.

[Background kitchen noises]

SP: Great, um, so the next question is about how you all have learned to cook. And I'm sure-have you all ever cooked in the restaurant?

CK: That's, that's an interesting question because, well, the cook in the family-our brother Matt-was an exceptional cook. And Gloria is an exceptional cook and I make very basic foods, and I know that Cecilia-

JM: She's a great cook.

CK: makes foods that her children really enjoy, but as far as cooking like mom, I'd say Gloria's the most-cooks most like Mom.

JM: Excuse me; no one had a chance to cook in the restaurant. The only one that cooked was my son, Matt Martinez, Jr., and he started cooking-well, he started cooking in the kitchen with me when he was maybe nine. He wanted to go see what I was cooking. And he wanted to see if he could do it. I said, of course you could do it. At night I would go to work, and my mother would stay home with them.

And he would always ask my mother, tell mother to bring us a steak cause I'm a start cooking. So she call me, and I'd bring them whatever and they'd start cooking. And he started cooking.

But then, in the kitchen I was bringing out the plate lunches and cooking the rest of the stuff and when he got old enough, he was going to school, and left for school, he'd come in especially on the weekends and get in the kitchen with us and he was pretty young. So Matt said, "No, no you go out to the front and we'll see about you later." So we sent him out of the kitchen until he got older.

CK: You and Matt used to both follow Grandma around, you, Gloria.

GR: My mother's-my grandmother, my mother's mother, lived with us for many years and she was a great, great cook just like my mother, and my father and my brother. And um, I guess just by being around them and to see them cooking-my brother was a great fishermen and hunter so he'd bring home all kinds of critters and, um, fish and everything. So I would watch my Grandmother cook, and that's how I learned, really basically-by being around them and watching them cook.

CM: I think I learned more to cook by just being around the food. It was just absolutely delicious. So even though I had never cooked, when I got married I just tried to duplicate, even though I was away from my family. And uh, so I would just kept trying until it tasted like something our family made. And if I had trouble I'd call my mom or my brother, and they would just tell us what to do, and so it was a fun way to learn.

SP: Um, I'd like to hear from the three of you now [Gestures to GR, CK, and CM] about how you are each involved in the restaurant at this point. What your different responsibilities are.

JM: Actually, they didn't have any responsibilities until they got a little older. After school, when they were pretty young they didn't go into the kitchen at all.

SP: Okay, but they have responsibilities now, right?

JM: Now, oh yes now, yes. After they got older they had quite a few responsibilities.

CK: Why don't you start, Cecilia?

CM: Well, [Laughs] I'm not sure. Um, [Pauses] well I think the thing that was lacking in the restaurant, we had the most, uh, delicious you know food preparation through my family and they were all so into hospitality. They were welcoming everyone that came in. What they didn't have is just, um, was just how to decorate the restaurant [Laughs]. One time my brother said he was embarrassed by an article that said it was kind of combination of Sears Roebuck and something else, and so I thought, well maybe that's where I can fit in.

So I have a degree in interior design from the University of Texas, and I never really pursued it, other-I had five children, and I stayed home with my children but it was enough for me to work with an architect with the restaurant. And um, to just do what I can to, um, to decorate the restaurant.

I know my dad's dream, he had always wanted to have a hacienda. I worked with him all the time, and so I knew. They would talk every evening, they would have a drink and dinner and just always discuss their dreams and he said he'd love to have a Mexican hacienda-style restaurant. So I just remembered that and just being around them, and I kind of knew what their dreams were, and it was easier for me to work with someone rather than-well they were involved in the day to day activities of the restaurant, so.

JM: [Clears Throat] But she did have a lot to do with the building, that she had a lot to do with the building. Her and my husband would sit out and get the architectural books, and styles and windows and doors and everything. And then to decide and tell the architect what they wanted. In what style they wanted. But she had a lot to do with that, because she knew what my dad-my husband-wanted.

SP: So you helped design this new location?

CM: Yes, we had a wonderful restaurant architect, Morris Hoover, and uh, and so what I did was just supply the ideas for the design for a Mexican restaurant, just the Mexican details-the doors and the tile and just kind of what my parents had envisioned they would like to have.

SP: Cathy?

CK: Okay, well, I guess it's funny how-well like you, you planned your involvement [Looks at CM]. Mine wasn't so much like I planned it, but I went to school in New York, and I studied fashion merchandising, and I didn't have any desire, that I knew of, to go into the restaurant business, except for that I love food. Our family lives to eat; we're obsessed with food [Laughs].

And we used to always, Dad used to take us out to dinner every Tuesday night, and we'd try different restaurants, and when we vacationed and traveled, that was the primary thing we were doing. And we were-Mom and Dad were always very adventuresome about different cuisines and, for example, I was five when a Chinese grandmother from one of the local restaurants taught me how to use chopsticks, so I've always, we always have known how to use chopsticks.

But um, anyway, when I worked in the fashion business on Seventh Avenue, I realized that I didn't have a passion for it. And I had a very dedicated boss who was very good to me. And I just thought, well, this is not for me.

And I um, I lied about my experience and I got a job at an interior Mexican restaurant on the Upper East Side, um, that was a very good restaurant. And um, the menu was in Spanish and I was the only one that could translate it, and uh, so I said I had lots of experience but I really didn't. But then I worked in various restaurants in New York as a waiter, a host and a manager and I learned a lot about the business.

And then when I moved back home, I brought that knowledge with me. And here I am, at Matt's- presently, I work the lunch shift, and I help with the advertising and marketing. And I really enjoy greeting the costumers and making them happy and taking reservations, and answering the phone and that sort of thing.

SP: Gloria?

GR: I'm the oldest of the girls, so I got married early-after high school-but um,

During high school I used to work on the weekends with my dad, and I really enjoyed that because um, my dad and I were-would uh, wait on tables, we'd host, we'd bus, we'd cashier-we did everything, and he taught me how to wait on tables.

And so I thought that was really neat because he'd tell me um, how to be nice to the people and what they liked and um, I did pretty good. I uh, made good tips. I always uh, I loved to go buy shoes and purses so I'd always spend it on shoes and purses but uh, through high school I did that, and then I got married, and I um, I used to work in the insurance business but I just, I just didn't care for it, you know? I guess we all have our passion here, it's like we grew up in this wonderful business with my mother and my father and uh, we're pretty easy going, we're-and I never had any problems with, um,

Talking to people or getting along with everyone I guess, because of my dad, because I was with him so much.

So, actually, back in, I guess in the 80's, um, my dad asked my husband and I-they were going to be making the move from the old location to this one, and he asked us to, if we would help him move over here, because it was a really big move [Clears throat], and so um, my husband started working with the restaurant as well as myself, and um, and then we took care of the restaurant for the first few years when it first opened here, 86, 85, 86, 87.

And we made the move, everything went pretty smooth, and, you know, just our business is just growing. We went from a small location to something that was pretty big, and it's pretty overwhelming when you come from a small place and then all of a sudden you have this big beautiful house full of people, and you have to make sure you're ordering enough food and doing, taking care of all of the costumers and all the help and training and we didn't have any training manuals so we were just doing everything as fast as we possibly could.

And it was very interesting, but I learned a lot from, um, being around my parents. I also went to Austin Community College and I took some courses in um, management, and um, I enjoyed them, but it's funny because I feel like I knew everything they were teaching me because of the experience that I had already. Because I just-being around my mom and my dad and the things that they did, it just kind of came natural. I think we're all gifted, we just have the talent of uh, we have a lot of common sense, and my mom and daddy have always been the most wonderful, courteous, loving people, and so-that is just a natural for all of us, and I think, that has helped us in all the things that we do.

I was GM [General Manager] here for several years, and I learned a lot from that. I'm still with the general manager, I kind of, we kind of troubleshoot when things happen. He calls on me, and we decide what's the best thing to do for the restaurant, for the customers, for our help, and that's-I continue to do that now.

I love cooking, and um, I love being around in the kitchen. I get along great with the guys in the kitchen, the dishwashers and pot washers, everyone. And we have a good rapport together, and we work together because the kitchen is the heart of our business, so we spend a lot of time there with them. Talking to them and making sure things are going right. I love that fact that my mother still to this day she'll come and she'll talk to our kitchen manager, and she checks on the sauces and makes sure everything is right. But even now we're, it's just a continuous learning process. We continue to learn every day.

As the business grows we do too, in the knowledge that we have. We're blessed that we have my mother who continues to guide us and to teach us in so, so many ways. And so we just, we really all of us really enjoy being here.

That fact that we love our parents so much because uh, they've always been so very good to us. And we want them to be proud of us, just like we are of them.

SP: That's, great, um, you all have been involved in different ways, and Janie I'd love to here about how-you cooked, right, and Matt worked in the front of the house? How else did y'all work together to manage the business?

JM: I just call him, I said, "Before we get busy, when you have a minute, would you come here for a second?" And he would come and help me with a big pot or whatever, but uh, we worked together as uh, like a team. And we never had a problem as far as arguing or nothing. Everything go forward with whatever. Everything was okay with me, was good for him, with him too.

And uh, I had learned all my cooking from my mother, all the everyday cooking, vegetables and stuff. We're very much into the vegetables and salads and fresh stuff from the garden, because we always had a garden, and so, thank goodness I could learn from my mom.

SP: Well what-that brings up a question for me of what, to you all makes Matt's a special restaurant, that people love coming to?

JM: Well the quality for one thing. We're trying to the best, and we always, said, we're gonna cook like its for us and our children. A lot of people don't think about that. But if you don't serve something you're not crazy about, or that's not tasty enough for you, don't serve it to the customers.

CK: Also I feel like, people feel like they're coming home to Matt's because we've been around so long, for so many generations of families and we genuinely love to take care of people. That was probably what best describes our dad, and your husband-he personified the concept of hospitality.

And uh so like, people come here like to celebrate christenings, and graduations and have memorial services and just all aspects of their lives, and uh, we've got staff that's been here a long time, and we've been around for a long time, and um, it's-they have that camaraderie that you don't get at most restaurants, and our staff, our waiters and our customers establish really close relationships and all throughout the restaurant.

CM: I think he would make sure that everyone was really felt special when they came in. I didn't mention that I also worked with him every weekend since I was about fifteen. I worked as a cashier and hostess, and even when I was at the university I'd arrange my schedule so I could work during the lunch hour and then have a wonderful lunch with them.

But I what I absolutely loved is that Mom would fix lunch for Dad, I mean he could order but she would fix something special for him everyday and he would say, "Oh this is just delicious!" And that's how new things would come on the menu; something would just be so wonderful that they decided to serve it for other people. And when we'd go on vacation, like, we had this wonderful shrimp on the beach one time in Acapulco, and that's how "Shrimp Martinez" got started, but it was always to give his very best. And to make everyone feel special. And he'd greet everyone and say goodbye to everyone, and everyone was so important to everyone in the restaurant, and I think that's how we try with out General Manager now and everyone, um, to just make sure that everyone-we give our very best in as far as food and service and make sure that everyone has everything they need, and want to celebrate, and want to come back to eat with us.

JM: When my husband was here, he would be in the front. And he would greet everybody that comes in. Now we try to train our help to do the same, to go to them and see if you can, wait on them and take care of them as soon as possible.

CK: Yes, and the hostesses are trained to welcome people as they come in the door, and then to always say goodbye and thank you when they leave.

JM: Lyndon Johnson used to come through the back door, because we let him come in through the little kitchen. There was a backdoor down the hallway where we had our drinks and sodas and so on, and he would come through there. And he would go through the kitchen first and say, "How are you Mrs. Martinez? How are you?" and shake my hand. Big old boy- he was tall and big [Laughs], and the security would come, but he'd come solo, like by himself, but the other people were already inside the building somewhere sitting down, but he-

CK: The Secret Service?

JM: -the Secret Service would be in different areas of the house, but he'd come in first and go through the kitchen and shake my hand, and then come on in. He was the sweetest man. And a lot of customers follow him. After a while many other people would come through the back. It was okay. We didn't mind-everything was fine. We had nothing to hide.

SP: And he had, did he have a favorite dish? Lyndon Johnson?

CK: Chili Rellenos, was it chili rellenos?

JM: Chili rellenos, after he was the President, I remember he called in a big order and sent his ice chest and my son, and some of the help, would pick it up and take it to the airport. But they-my son had a pass to go in with whoever was with him to drop off the ice chest with all of the goodies he had. Most of the time it was chili rellenos.

SP: That's great, um, how do you all think the restaurant has changed? Has it changed over the sixty years and if so how?

JM: Well, we're busier and most of our customers are repeat customers, and people that heard about us, so when some people goes away, moves away, then they come back. And if I happen to be here, they say, "Mrs. Martinez everything is still the same!" It has to be. We hope to have it the same always and that makes me so happy.

Just to say, "I haven't been in years because we moved," or whatever. They always come back, they remember us. And that's a joy. Its something, it's a good feeling to hear that from my customers.

CK: Well one of the ways the menu-the restaurant has evolved, is we've had to make changes to suit the contemporary diet. For example, we have a lot more vegetarians now so we've-we have a lot of dishes on the menu that are vegetarian, we also have a gluten free menu. And uh, we're trying to use as natural products as possible. We are, um, we always have made-we have the in-house tortilla factory and we've always made our own flour and corn tortillas, but we have Nyman Ranch Steak, and Nyman Ranch eggs and our fajitas are a Nyman Ranch product. So we've made those types of modifications over the years.

SP: And when did you start including, when did the gluten free menu begin?

CK: That's been fairly recent, I'm thinking it's been about maybe, five years?

GR: Yes. Well yes, about three to five years.

JM: Five years for what [Asks CM]?

CM: The gluten-free menu.

JM: Oh, okay.

GR: I think too, uh, back in the 50s, the restaurant was called a café, and now we're a restaurant, and um, I think the restaurant still has the same mom and pop feel, but it doesn't have a corporate feel at all, because um, because the family is still here, and managers are on the floor at all times-

JM: [Underneath GR] Tell her about the [unintelligible].

GR: -and we're also still um, uh, as people's needs for different foods change we do too, you know, and its really neat to see. We have a lot of restauranteurs to come and see and eat here. And not only do they come to eat here, they come to learn how we're doing, how we're doing things.

CK: Or copy.

GR: Lots of copying [Everyone laughs]. They come to learn from us, they try and sneak in kitchen help so they can see to learn and see what we're doing in the kitchen. And my dad always told us, he told me one time, uh, he says, "Don't worry, we-everyone has competition, but we're all in the restaurant business. If you just learn to do everything the best that you can, serve quality food, be consistent in what you do, we can't fail."

You know, and we've always listened to that, you know, and it's very true. I'm very proud of this restaurant. My sister has a lot to do with the feel of it, Cathy has got an incredible personality, so everything is covered. You know, a little bit of everything, everybody does a little bit of everything but we all come together just like my mother and my dad's love for each other. We came together.

SP: Did you all ever think about opening a second, or third venue?

GR: We dream about it, we think about it a lot. My dad always said, "Take care of your house," meaning this restaurant, "and it will take care of you." So for right now, we still dream about it but we're probably going to do it in the next few years. I think that's uh, we're doing succession planning, and in succession planning we have to think about the future, how we're going to, what place were going play, what role we're going to play and also our children who will someday take over. And so, those are the things that we're thinking about now. We're documenting, putting things together so that we have everything in order. And, uh, my mother and father have laid a great foundation for us, so it's up to us the children to keep it up so that it can continue after we're not here.

LB: Could you tell us a little bit about the previous location on Caesar Chavez, and the transition from there to here? [Background kitchen sounds]

GR: It started in 1952, when my mother and my father, by themselves, they started it. My mother was in the kitchen and my dad was in the front, and my mother was in the kitchen preparing everything totally from scratch. And, really, literally doing everything by herself. And my father was, he'd come in and, uh, making sure the room was set up, the bar was set up, we had everything we need, ordered the food that we needed. Really did everything by their selves.

And then um, after that, um, the place they where-they were renting it, and they both wanted to find a place they could own and not have to pay the rent. It seems that every time they added on or they improved it, it seemed that rent went up. So um, we had a house, I think it was in the sixties, on um, I forgot where it was. It was on, it was called El Rancho Number 2, and it was another house, on-

CM: It was on Caesar Chavez, it was just directly across the street-

GR: No, the one before that.

CK: Are you talking about Barton Springs Road?

GR: Yeah, yeah Barton Springs Road, and they had the for about four years, and they had bought it with the intention of buying the property, and then the people that owned it, decided, well, "We don't want to sell it after all." So my dad said, "Okay, so we're not staying here." So then two houses came across from the current location that they were at-the big one, 302 East 1st-and two houses came up for sale there so those are the houses that he bought so that he have, that he could own the property, and he wouldn't have to rent anymore.

SP: And then what prompted to move from that location to here?

GR: Well we got a really nice offer [Laughs].

CK: From the Southland Corporation, because uh, they wanted to build a Four Seasons Hotel and they couldn't do it without our property.

So they made, they made Mom and Dad an offer, and Mom said, "How about five times your offer?"

JM: I had to wait two years, and finally they changed their minds.

CK: They offered a million dollars, and Mom said, "How about five?"

JM: That's not enough.

CK: And they agreed because they couldn't complete the project until, uh until they agreed, and so um, Dad had his eye on this property and it was pretty funny, because back then in 1985 this was the edge of town and all there was on this road was, um the Horse Shoe Lounge, and the Broken Spoke. And then it was the boondocks. And Dad talked to all his banker friends and businessmen from downtown and they said, "Matt, you're not going to make it, you're going to loose your shirt."

JM: Yes we were.

CK: And it was kind of funny, but people didn't cross the bridge, people didn't cross the Lamar-or the 1st [Street] bridge because this was like the bad side of town. South Austin, which is now Central Austin, so we get a good laugh out of this and now look at it.

SP: So that was in '80-

CK: '85 when the transaction was made, and then this restaurant opened in December of '86.

SP: And did this building open in the way that it is laid out now? Or have you expanded the building?

JM: It's the same. It's the same size.

CK: We've expanded the patio-

JM: The patio is a little bit bigger.

CK: -and this room that we're in was supposed to be just for private functions, but it's-

JM: We can't do that.

CK: -it's used as a dinning room. And I think one of the reasons we haven't uh, opened up another restaurant is because this is kind of like a big monster restaurant. And um, if- they seating capacity including the patio is 575 so, sometimes it's still overwhelming and there's still a lot to do.

GR: It keeps us all busy.

SP: What's uh, on a busy night, how many covers will you do?

GR: Our dinner manager is trying to figure that out now, because it has changed so very much from the very beginning, so, he's trying to do some numbers now to figure out how many, because it's quite a few. An-

SP: Surely on a busy night you do more than a thousand, probably, right?

GR: Oh absolutely, yeah [Laughs]. A couple of thousand, for sure.

CK: He could probably give us an estimate.

SP: Y'all doing okay? Yeah, um, last time we spoke you all mentioned the different dinning rooms and kind of the different meaning that each dinning room has. Could you, could you describe, describe that?

GR: I think you'd be the best [Gestures to CM].

CM: I think you'd be better [To GR]. It's the West Room, that, um [Hesitates, looks at GR]-

GR: No, you do it.

CM: No, actually [CM and GR laugh]- Well, I can tell you my intent, you know, when we designed the restaurant, it was to have, um-we didn't want to have just great big rooms so that people felt uncomfortable. We wanted it to be as homely as possible still within a restaurant and so it turned out that the West Room has gotten to be kind of a meeting place for people because you can easily be seen from the bar and as you enter the restaurant, so a lot of people come on Sundays that like to-we have generations of family, their children come, their grandchildren come and they're all grown up now, and um, so-

CK: Some people call it the Country Club Room, because its sort of the be seen kind of room.

GR: But having four generations of families that we're feeding is pretty incredible, that all the rooms have a different meaning for different people. And some people just like different rooms because, it could be the atmosphere, because maybe the first time they came to eat here they came there. So it's amazing how much sensitivity they have to where they sit or who waits on them.

But uh, they feel very comfortable coming here. And this is one of the few restaurants that you can really truly say, you know, "I love coming to Matt's because it doesn't really feel like a restaurant, because every time you come we see so many people that you know." And it's amazing how, it doesn't matter what room you sit in because people get up and go into the different dining rooms, and say, "I'm going to go see who's here tonight," and it's great because uh, they see a lot of their friends that frequent the restaurant as well, so it makes it nice. It's a very comfortable feeling.

CK: And then we also-

GR: The colors, I have to compliment my sister because, the colors, the feel of all the rooms are very inviting. And that has a lot to do with you wanting to be here, not only with the food, and also our waiters have been here for a long time and all that just kind of comes together.

CK: I was just going to say that we have people who avoid each other, and go to different rooms [Everyone laughs]. Like we have a lot of like, divorcees, and that sort of thing [Everyone laughs]. But, it's, I mean, maybe I shouldn't mention that but it certainly does happen.

CM: Well one thing we didn't mention is that we're one of the few restaurants in Austin where you can come in with twenty, twenty-five, thirty people, or even fifty, and we can seat you. You may have to wait few minutes, but the rooms are all designed so that you can put the tables together to accommodate a large party. So we have so many celebrations, as far as birthdays, anniversaries, or just people wanting to get together as a family.

SP: And how many did the original restaurant on 1st [Street] seat?

GR: I think it was two twenty-five.

SP: Two hundred and twenty-five?

GR: Two hundred and twenty-five.

CM: It started with forty.

SP: Okay.

GR: Oh, the original one, yes.

CM: The original started with forty, and then they kept adding-a dinning room, uh then another dinning room, and then they opened up a place across the street, then two places across the street. So at one time we had three restaurants on the same street. Because we just kept adding.

JM: It was getting crazy.

SP: But coming here you doubled your capacity, right, when you moved to this-wow.

I would like to hear just a little bit more about the food, the specific food and uh, Mrs. Martinez I was listening to the interview that you did with StoryCorps today, and you talked about not having any recipes when you first started, that it was all in your head. Could you-

JM: We didn't have any. We started putting recipes together. I said, "Matt, this is ridiculous. We're making more and more and, I just said we need to sit down and make some recipes." I started doing that. And we didn't have a recipe for the pralines, and that was a job. And I said, "We're not leaving this building until we get it right." And finally, we measured, we measured, the milk, the butter, and so on.

And then we started again, that worked. Now we know every time just exactly how much of everything to put in. I make my little recipe and then make another recipe, kept on. And after we go enough help, I didn't have to work all day. I was working, I'd go home but I'd start putting more recipes together. So that's when I, I fixed um, sopapillas, and the flan, and something else. But I kept on making recipes at home. But I didn't care, because we had help to do it all [Laughs]. But it was fun.

SP: Is there anything that you, like, do you have a favorite dish to cook?

JM: Well, I think I like everything, but my main concern is the place looking pretty, looking nice. And the concern that I never could make myself happy, is with the salads. But we work on them. I want them to look beautiful when they come to the table, and so some nights here, I always go back talk to the manager of the kitchen, and I tell him this is what we have to do. And come on, I'll show you, so we go back there. He's very understandable. And we all get along with him.

GR: I think its pretty incredible that my mother um, when they started off they just had forty tables, and with those forty tables, they just kind of like, "Okay this is about how much we need," and then they started making that and they started, you know, if things were running out a little bit, "Well we need to increase that." And my mother and my father were very good about numbers and about volume, because if they weren't there was no way they could um, keep up with the uh, with the growth. And uh, they did that each time they added another dinning room, well they had to add a little more food, a little more sauce, a little more of this, a little- and the groceries the way you bought it and everything, and they did everything in their head.

So that is pretty unbelievable. That they could do, that could do that, it's just like, they're just thinking about it, but they never stopped thinking about it. It's always like-it's a pleasure to think about the things that they need because they enjoyed it so much. So it's uh, you even dream about it, you know, so I think it's, it's unbelievable how that has grown. And when we first moved, from the old location to this place too, I remember, Jimmy, our cook who was with us like about thirty-seven years, he came to the back one day and tears were running down his face, and he said uh, he took a big sigh and he says, "You know, I just, people keep coming and they keep coming, and I keep ordering, and I keep ordering and I don't know what to do anymore."

I said, "Jimmy, this is a new place, this is like our new house. We just have to do what Mommy and Daddy did back in the old days. They just take it slow and we'll do it together. Because Mom and Dad did it together, and we're going to do it together." That kind of calmed him down, but then we had to go to the back and we'd work with him, and we did it. You know, it just, it was pretty mind boggling when we first opened up because we didn't know what to expect.

JM: On the way, on the way to work in the morning, the first thing we did was stop at the grocery store, and I just go and look and see what looks good. That's the kind of vegetables I pick up. Then on the way over he says, "What else?" and I thought real fast: "I can't do this or that because I did it two days ago, this and that."

And by the time we got to the restaurant I knew what I was going to cook. And that was every day. But I loved to do that.

CK: I'd like to mention about our top selling items here at Matt's. Our, um, our number one selling item is the Beef Fajitas, the Sizzling Fajitas. And we're using the Niman Ranch beef for those fajitas. Secondly, um, the Chile Relleno would be the number two seller. And that's an item that Matt's is known for, and famous for. And, um, the third top seller would be the enchiladas, and the most popular sauce is the chile con carne sauce with either beef or cheese.

CM: Don't forget The Bob.

CK: Oh, and I shouldn't forget the margaritas. I, I was, well, I'll mention margaritas first. We are also very famous for having the best margaritas in Austin, and, um, I showed you the lime juicer in the kitchen. And we squeeze our fresh limes every day and, uh, we use, you can, customers can choose whatever tequila they prefer. We have a menu with an extensive tequila list. The family prefers Cointreau rather than Grand Marnier or triple sec because it's a, it's a natural orange liqueur, and, uh, it's really delicious.

And, uh, Cecelia mentioned Bob Armstrong. Would you all like to tell about Bob? [The others nod to CK to go on]

CK: Bob Armstrong was the land commissioner here in Austin, and he's been very active in, in politics here in Austin, and he's served in various presidential cabinets and he started the Sierra Club here in Austin. He's still our customer and, he's a great guy, and, uh, our brother Matt and him argue about who invented the Bob Armstrong dip, which is chile con queso with seasoned taco meat and guacamole. Matt says he invented it, and Bob says he invented it. But, um, Matt says he, um, he invented it for Bob when he wanted something special. And he, he likes to call himself Bob Armstrong Dip and if he sees you eating it here at the restaurant he'll come over and say, "I'm Bob Armstrong Dip." And out of all of his lifetime accomplishments he is most proud of having the dip named after him. And we sell lots and lots of Bob Armstrong Dip.

SP: Could you say other menu items that have been named after people? Are there other?

CK: We have the Cactus Pryor Margarita, um-

JM: And the steak.

CK: -which is a prickly pear margarita.

JM: And the steak for Mr. Crenshaw, [inaudible]

CK: Crenshaw Steak. And, um, then we have Matt, Jr. Potatoes, these potatoes that our brother created which are, um, which are like a fry but they're sautéed on the grill with onions and jalapeños and some soy sauce. Anything else, Mom, that you put in that?

JM: Jalapeño, bell pepper.

CK: It's jalapeños, onions, a little soy, and salt and pepper. And, um, and then Shrimp A La Matt, is that dish that Dad discovered in Acapulco on the beach, and he asked mom to cook it, which is how he, how he would do things, and then mom cooked it.

JM: Lemon and butter and a little bit of garlic salts, and grill this on the grill.

CK: Lemon, butter and garlic salt?

JM: Mmm, hmmm. Little bit of lemon.

SP: Gloria, last time you mentioned that you all were one of the first restaurants to have seafood in the area, is that right?

JM: Yes, we were the first ones in Austin. And our first one was Seafood Enchiladas, and then, Tostadas Compuestas, and, uh, stuffed jalapeño, stuffed, uh, bell pepper. The stuffed chile relleno was with shrimp, and we were the first ones.

SP: And why did you start serving seafood?

JM: Because my husband said that we needed to have some seafood a la Mexicana. And I said, okay, and so we did that. We also have a pizza with seafood, which is shrimp, and that's all we have.

GR: We had Red Fish. Tell them about the Red Fish that you had.

JM: And Red Fish.

CK: And we still do. [Laughter]

SP: And where do you all source your seafood? Is it from?

CK: From the Gulf. The Red Fish is from the Gulf and the shrimp is from the Gulf. And we serve Atlantic Salmon. And, um, something that's not seafood but is also very popular here at Matt's is grilled Frog Legs. You can have them grilled or fried. And that's, that's sort of the South Texas, Mexican border item, but people love it. [JM coughs]

SP: Yeah, that's a question about how you all see the restaurant fitting into the Texas food scene. Is there, are there specific ways that you feel like the restaurant has contributed to that scene?

GR: I guess it's Texas comfort food, because we really have an incredible, um, menu. I mean we even serve great hamburgers! And, um, seafood, Mexican food, steaks, a little bit of everything.

CM: I think with the Tex-Mex food you usually find the flour tortillas, and ever since the very beginning we were making our homemade flour tortillas. We've never bought flour tortillas from everyone, anyone. And so I think that makes us really special, and of course we've always, uh, made our own corn tortillas also, which most restaurants don't do. We grind our corn and we make our tortillas, we make our chips, so everything is in-house here at the restaurant.

CK: And as far as our contribution to Texas, I mean I think we've definitely made a contribution. If you go down the road to San Antonio, like eighty miles down the road, the, the food is much more interior Mexican. But it's, it's interesting how it happened in Tex-Mex. Austin kind of like organically, because it seems like most of the restaurants that opened around the same time, serve the same type of cuisine. But I feel like Matt's is a prime example of Austin-style Tex-Mex.

SP: Um, switching gears a little bit, could you tell us about your employees?

CM: You would be best.

GR: Mmm, gosh. We have, we have waiters. I mean like I said, Jimmy, our main chef, he was, um, he, he was here 37 years, but, Mom and Daddy in the very beginning when they were getting help, they used to find people, um, on the road, in the back of the restaurant, or whatever, and Dad would just look at him and say, "Hey, you wanna, you wanna work here?" and he says "Well what do you want me to do?" he, Dad, he would say, "Come in and I'll teach you." You know, so, you know, they're, they taught all their employees, and, uh -

One great story is one of our, our waiters-Joe, Joe Robelo-ah, he was playing, ah, ah, softball in the field and my brother was playing in the field with some of our employees, and, ah, it's funny how my dad used to do that and my brother told him one day, he says "Hey, what you doing?" and he says "I'm just here hanging out." He says, "Well, if you need a job, come talk to me."

And Joe came to talk to him, and he, he's been here over twenty years. And ah, he always, he always remembers that. He says ah, "I'll always be indebted to your brother because your brother hired me," and ah, he says, "It's been a love affair ever since because I just, I just love being here, I love everything about it, I feel like it's my family, and there's nothing I won't do to make this place, um, do my very best to make this place, you know, what it was in the very beginning when your mom and dad started it."

So. And he's still here. He's still here. So we have a lot of great employees that been with us for many, many years, for many reasons. Some were high, some were in school, and some were just, gosh. We have several of 'em that started as our bus boys. From bus boys, they were, um, ah, they went catering with us. After catering, well they did bar backs, and bartenders. Then they were host people. And, ah, now some of, they're the strongest kitchen guys we have, because they're just, they loved every, being with us, doing things with us. And like my mother and my father in the very beginning, they were very good to their employees.

And, ah, we continue to talk to, we nurture them a lot, we say we, we have, we do a little family therapy all the time, because they always, you know, everybody's got their little problems in different ways and different times, so, but we're always there for them. We talk to them, we ask them how you're feeling. You know, when they come here everyday, you see 'em everyday, you can tell when something's bothering them, so you say, hey, what's going on, you know. And sometimes they open up, and sometimes after a little bit they say, "Well, I'm having a problem, you know, I don't know what to do."

So, it's a lot of nurturing going on all the time. But it's a good thing. It's a good thing because they all feel that we're here for them. I know many of them have told me through the years it's, um, it's very good feeling to be able to come to work and not just be a number. You're an actual person and you can feel that you care about us. So that's always been really good.

SP: Last time you all mentioned that there are two families that many of the employees come from? Can you?

CK: Um, there's the majority of our kitchen staff, they came to Texas when they were teenagers and, uh, they're Mexican nationals who are naturalized. And, uh, one, one family came from San Luis Potosí, where our maternal grandmother was from. And the other half, if you will, cuz it's kinda like fifty-fifty, are from Guanajuato in Mexico. And it's, the way it happened is, like, one cousin would bring another cousin, or one brother would bring another brother, an uncle, and so on. But, they're, they're still there. And they, they've been, since they were teenagers, and they're like in their forties and they're still, they're still here.

SP: And have multiple generations of those families, like, have their kids also worked here, or, have they had kids?

CK: To a certain extent.

GR: Cousins, cousins, or brothers, or in-laws.

CK: Nieces, nephews, that sort of thing. And then the wait staff is primarily college students or students who graduated who are trying to find a job in their career.

GR: Well we have several [that] have been with us over twenty years, so they're always a good testimony to, uh, things are good here [Laughs].

SP: So how many total? How, how?

GR: A hundred and thirty eight.

SP: So that's kitchen and wait staff?

GR: And it changes between a hundred and forty, you know, a hundred twenty-five sometimes. Depends on the season, we're getting ready to go into our busy season so we staff up.

SP: Um, is there, we noticed the, that all the wait staff wear red. Has that always been the case? Has the, what is the uniform policy? Has that changed over time?

JM: It changes. We used to change them. We started with white. White jackets and black bow-tie. And a white shirt. Just like my husband, that's what he wore, so the whole, the waiters we had wore the same, wore the same, and then we change it to different colors.

GR: A red jacket, a white shirt, and a black bow-tie.

CK: What they're JM: A short one

CK: What they're wearing is the Mexican wedding shirt called the guayavera. And, honestly, um, we buy them according to what colors we can get a large, a large quantity that we can reorder, um, and as, I mean, of course we try to suit the surroundings, the paint, and the décor a bit. But just being able to get from a woman's petit to a man's, you know, extra large is kinda tricky. And we, we would love to find burnt orange ones if we could find them [CK and GR laugh].

CM: Well I think what's very interesting too is when my dad started, um, he would go out with a business card, just down Congress in front of his restaurant, and say if you don't like it, you don't have to pay for it. But when you were talking about how the waiters were dressed, it was an old house, uh, with just, you know whatever they could to furnish it. But what he did, is that he would have cloth table cloths and cloth napkins and the waiters were dressed in the, like a waiter jacket that you would find at a, you know, maybe a four-star restaurant, and uh, so it was.

You know, I thought it just really good business on my dad's part, because everyone was welcome but it just had that air of a formal restaurant, and yet it was in an old building and, with delicious homemade food. So I think that added a lot to the character of the restaurant.

JM: He was a real waiter.

CM: And he was, yeah, he was so professional in everything that he did.

JM: He was a professional. So people just loved him so.

SP: Did he advertise in other ways, besides?

CM: That's how he started.

GR: He was in the Yellow Pages. He was the first one, uh, and I have to research this, but, uh, he was one of the first ones to have his picture along with the advertisement in the, in the, uh, Yellow Pages. And then, uh, he did, um, postcards and so, um, a lot of people didn't do that in the beginning.

JM: Book matches and so on.

CK: The matches.

GR: And the matches. But he says, "People need to know who you are. You can have a name, but if you have a name with a face, then they're able to recognize you." He was beyond his years in, in many, many ways.

CK: He liked billboard advertisement as well.

CM: The restaurant was named El Rancho Restaurant, but everyone called it Matt's because Matt, Dad, greeted everyone. And so it just became known as Matt's. And now it's Matt's El Rancho, Incorporated. Because they couldn't-he was just such a part of the restaurant. He was such a character of the restaurant. He was the restaurant. 'Cause unfortunately, they didn't know that Mom was in the kitchen doing everything. But Dad was the one everyone saw.

SP: So "Famous" is not an official part of the business name? Matt's "Famous" El Rancho.

CK: It's not in the corporate name, no. But it, we, we've used it on our sign for a long time and in our advertising.

SP: So how do you advertise now? What are kind of the main?

CK: We advertise with Longhorn Sports. Um, we do, I wanted to mention we do a huge, uh, like, before and after football game business. And we used to cater a press box for a number of years, and have always had a really good relationship with UT, and still do.

And we advertise on, um, local radio stations like KUT and Bob FM and MS Radio and The Chronicle.

SP: And it's clear to me too that there's a huge part of the way that you advertise is just the word of mouth. Last night going around there was a group of probably six guys who came up and asked me to take a picture of them because they were in from out of town and their friend who lived in town said, "Well, you have to go to Matt's."

GR: Yes.

SP: So it's clear that that does a lot of the work.

CK: Yes, that's true.

GR: It's amazing how people just look us up or they're staying at a hotel and they go, you know, where's a good place to go eat, and they don't even, they're not even specific about Mexican food, because we have the steaks and the seafood. People just direct 'em our way, which is great because they, they're not even close here. Some can be, uh, some, one lady was, uh, a couple of months ago, she was in from San Antonio and they were, they were saying, "Well we're going to visit Austin, you know, would you by chance happen to know?" And the concierge told them, "Well you need to go to Matt's. That's the best place to go in Austin."

So they came in and they were really happy that they did because they had, everybody had something different on the, from the menu. And we have people that come in from out of town and taxi cab drivers will direct 'em this way. Ah, when they have conventions as well, the convention people will say, "Well you gotta go to Matt's because they've been there a long time and the food's great," so.

CK: And a lot of people just Google restaurants in Austin, Mexican restaurants, Tex-Mex, or look at Eater.com or other websites that recommend Austin restaurants.

CM: But Dad always said if you give 'em, you know, if we give 'em our very best, they'll come back. And they have.

SP: So one more question about the employees. You mentioned last time that the employees get health insurance. Has that always been the case, or is that a recent addition?

CK: It's been for quite some time.

GR: We've been doing it for at least twenty years that I can remember. We do, you know you have to be here a certain amount of years and then after that we put you on the insurance. But, uh, we've always tried to take care of 'em and that's what, that's what a lot of people tell us sets us apart too because we go far and beyond. It's just not treating them well, but we do everything we can so, to provide them benefits that, a lot of places don't and they still don't.

SP: That's great. Um, so we talked about the employees a little bit. Could you tell us about the customers? Who comes to eat here?

GR: Wow, that's, that's a loaded question [GR and CK and CM laugh].

GR: We have, ah, a lot of, not only Austinites. We have three and four generations of families that [have] been eating with us. They started back in, and it's really neat. I'm, I'm, since I'm the eldest, I get to see a lot of this.

Um, customers came in when Mom, before they were even married, came to eat at the restaurant on, on, ah, East 1st. They had their children, and their children kinda grew up with us. I came into the picture 'cause I was there. I remember some of their children, and now their children are having children. So I've seen them grow up, I've seen them get married, I've seen them get divorced, I've seen, you know just the whole gamut of the families coming to eat with us. But it's really wonderful.

I was at a, one of, uh, I was at a lunch today and it was for my son who, um, I mean, uh, a friend of ours their son was in the Marines and he just came back. And out of those maybe twenty people in there, five of them told me, "Oh, our son's coming back. The first place they want to go is to go to Matt's."

You know, they've been eating here for such a long, generation after generation. It's just like you come here because you're celebrating, you come here because you're together. And, um, it's Old Austin people that have been eating, they, they're, they started with Mom and Dad back, back in the fifties. And, um, so they continue to come. Some have retired, some have moved away. But whenever they come back, they're always coming to eat with us.

We have a good UT following, a lot of young people coming that have never eaten with us before, so they come and, um, you know cousins, family, relatives, they tell you, you know, "Let's go get together at Matt's," and so, it just continues to grow.

CK: We also get celebrity visitors, like, um, of, near the holidays. Um, our boys, we, um, were having, the cousins were having dinner together with the family and they were very excited because ZZ Top was here.

And recently Lyle Lovett was here and, uh, Dennis Quaid lives in Austin so he comes here pretty often. He's a local, um, good local customer. And, um.

CM: Spoon.

CK: Oh, yeah, um, let's see. Brit Daniels, he, our, Matt's is his favorite restaurant and he had or has a link to, on his website to Matt's. And, um, our, probably the customer we're most proud of is LBJ and Lady Bird Johnson [Laughs]. And, and he used to come when he was a senator and then continue to come as president.

GR: And Mark White used to come here a lot. Ex-governor Mark White, you know, so have governor, all kinds of politicians as well.

CK: Like Ben Barns.

GR: Ben Barns, he still comes a lot, so it's a little bit of everything.

SP: Has your clientele changed at all over the years? I mean obviously you have a huge clientele that is consistent and has been coming forever, but have you noticed other changes, like with the change in the neighborhood since you moved to this location, or?

CK: Austin is so trendy now that I'm seeing a lot trendier people. And, um, one thing that, that I'm especially proud of at Matt's is you see all, people from all walks of life. You see poor working man types, um, to multi-millionaires and, we just welcome everybody. And they're all sitting next to each other. And, ah, just, just a very diverse mix.

GR: We have a young man, this, um, his name is Jonathan. And when he was little he used to come here, like, about four times a week, and he loved a chopped steak. He'd have chopped steak a la Mexicana. So he ordered it so much, 'cause the waiters used to say, "Well, you know, what are we going to give, Jonathan is ordering his chopped steak, what, what do we charge?" So we put it on the menu, was Jonathan's Chopped Steak. And, ah, he's recently graduated from, from college and ah he's, he moved back to Austin and he says, "I moved back in the neighborhood of Austin because I want to be next to El Rancho," and, ah, he says, although, and he's a writer now, so he says, "I'm gonna write you a good story because, ah, I remember all the times I used to come, and now I'm grown up and I still can't seem to get away from this place."

So, it's a lot of cool stories. So many people tell us a lot of neat things. But it's, it's the warm fuzzy feeling, I think, my sister and my mom and my dad and everyone, the family, has created.

SP: Well we were just noticing last night and the times that we've been here how diverse the clientele is. And it seems like part of that has to do with it's a, I mean it's a very affordable menu, and how you are able to attract people from, you know, lower income to wealthy, and the fact that everyone feels welcome here is pretty amazing and awesome. Because I think usually you go to a restaurant and it's one or the other.

GR: Mmm-hmm. We have the Warners that come in to eat with us, uh, every day. They'd come on Tuesdays, but we're closed on Tuesdays. But they come every day and they said they're "professional eater-outers" [Everyone laughs]. And so they said, "We always know we can get a good deal here. The food's always great and the hospitality is even better," so they come every day. Every day. That's pretty cool.

SP: Could you all talk about the, the plaque program? What is that on the tables, and when did that start?

GR: Actually, it started when we moved from the old location to here. There was an organization called the Adapt Program. The Adapt Program, ah, was an organization to help people and families who were addicted to drugs, alcohol, and a lot of the, uh, family members, um, I mean they are, the people that were on, on that particular, uh, what is it, council, they, um, they were also our customers.

And, um, they said, they came up with this great idea. They said, "You know, we, we can't bear to say goodbye to this place, but we're happy that we're gonna continue, be able to continue to go, so we want to know if we can have a, ah, a goodbye celebration to El Rancho and a hello to the new place."

So what we did is we, um, people bought these plaques and it was a fundraiser. So all the money was donated to the Adapt Program. And we had, um, pretty big grand prizes too, for people. We had a drawing as well. The Four Season had a room and somebody, the, un, ah, they had a shotgun that they also auctioned off and a couple other big prizes and, of course, dinner at Matt's.

But what they did is they, uh, they sold the tables and plaques to put on the tables and chairs. And, um, I think that the tables were a hundred and twenty-five and the chairs were seventy-five. And so, um, that's how that started. It's, uh, goodbye to the old and hello to the new. But it's to, with the Adapt Program.

CK: And how do we do it now?

GR: Actually we still do this. People still want to, 'cause they see the plaques and the want to have their name on here. So now, ah, there are different organizations, ah, that we, um, that we, uh, have the money sent to, donate, donations sent to. Um.

CK: Well it's, it's the Matt [GR overlaps and speaks the following in unison with CK] Martinez Fund at the Austin Community Foundation [overlap ends], and people can honor, um, in memorial-

GR: Their loved ones

CK: -to deceased people, or for someone's birthday or anniversary, various causes, and it's, is it three hundred dollars a table now?

GR: Yeah, actually it's whatever they want now.

CK: Not a required amount?

GR: And they used to, it's, it's, no, it's usually over a hundred. So we still do the plaques for the people, and people are always talking about them, even now, because it's, it's, it's, because they come so often and it's very sentimental, you know, for whatever cause there is or just could be no cause. It could be because we come here a lot or we like it. So that's pretty cool [Laughs].

SP: What other ways is the restaurant, or have, you know, were you and Matt and now, involved, in just, in the community?

GR: Oh my gosh.

CK: The Seton Fund for one. Um, we are, um, dedicated to, um the Seton Fund, which, um, provides health care to poor people and poor, low income people and, in particular, um, the Sister Gertrude Levy Fund. She has an endowment, um, where she, she's um, is she ninety-two or ninety-three, I forget?

CM: Ninety-two.

CK: Ninety-two. And, um, her passion is that after she's deceased she wants to keep on giving to the community, and she's a very dear friend of ours.

Um, our dad was mentored by, um, Sister Philomena Felzt, who was the dietician at Seton Hospital and she used to run a soup kitchen during the depression. And there's now a street named after her over by Children's Hospital.

And when she moved to a nursing home she asked Sister, uh, Gertrude Levy to uh, to look after us, because, um, she loved us and cared about us. And so we've been, become devoted to her fund. And our, our General Manager has a golf tournament every year, and all the proceeds, um, go to her fund, and then we also donate annually to her fund. And, ah, there's very other charities that we're involved with but that is the most significant.

GR: We've always done community work as well. My father always used to, uh, help with, like, Salvation Army during Thanksgiving and Christmas and things. And we've always donated to different organizations because of the community involvement, not only, we're here to, um, all, to serve the, our community and part of the community, it's always been my dad's desire to give back. And so he's always done his share and we have continued through, through the years.

Um, we've all been part of, like, Mexi-Arte Museum, and um, the, uh, well the Adapt, Meals On Wheels, I mean we do so many things, Juan Diego High School, just so many, many things that, ah, in the community that we still do so that people will not, um, because we enjoy doing it. It's our community, it's part of something that as, as employees it's not really an obligation, but it's, it's a blessing that we're able to do what we do.

SP: And you also have served, Gloria, on different restaurant association boards, right?

GR: We've been members with Texas Restaurant Association or the Austin Restaurant Association for many, many years. We've all held many, gosh, so many, I think almost all positions from secretaries, uh, president, we've all, my father and my brother were the, got the highest award and they were the only, uh, father-son to do, to receive that award, um, I think ever.

CK: The Texas Restaurant Association Hall of Honors Award.

GR: Yes, and my brother, my, ah, my husband and I both are, all three of us received, ah, were awarded with Restaurateur of the Year in different years. And, um, I was president of the Lady's Auxiliary, and while my brother and my husband were president of the Auxiliary the, for this chapter here in Austin. Gosh I did secretary, I just, and for the education, I mean we just, and my sister-in-law in Dallas, she's still doing that.

And, um, so we just continue to serve in so many capacities in different organizations. And we really enjoy it because you really meet a wonderful, wonderful people. With the Restaurant Association, you know, we're all involved in the same business, we all have the same challenges, so would all talk about, you know, what, what are you doing about this, you know, and, and um, since we're all trying to do the same thing, you know, sometimes we get some really good ideas from our really, kinda like coworkers, not really because, but because they're in the same industry.

So it's been great that we've, we've been able to, uh, uh, participate in things together. And they all involve being, uh, in the public eye and serving food with, um, and with all the changing laws throughout the years we've been able to work together to make it better for all of us.

SP: Would you all mind like talking a little about what it's been like being women in the restaurant industry in Texas?

GR: It's very different for us now because we, at, at, currently, we are Hispanic, women-owned here, now. And, um, I've never felt like I've, it's been challenging, it's just always a part of what we do and how we do it, and I guess with my mother and my father being so confident all the time and the fact that failure has been an option. It's never even been a thought because we continue just to do our best, which is my, which is what they taught us to do, and, uh, I don't know. I'm happy.

CK: We probably think of ourselves more of a family rather than as women specifically.

GR: There's, uh, there's some, I know a few women, ah, restaurateurs. But they, ah, they're just like our friends. I just don't feel like I'm. I've never, I don't about you all, I've never felt like I'm worried or like it's a really big challenge. I guess we're just blessed with such success, and ah we just, we have to, not, I feel like I, I want to, my desire is to do whatever I can to continue doing, to take care of our customers and our employees. It's just the thing that we do.

CK: And even though our brother and our father are deceased, it's like they are so much a part of our existence as a business that we will never forget what they told us or what they thought. Like, I remember after Dad died, I used to think, "What would Dad do in this situation," or "How would Dad see this?" And it was, it was really a comfort, and I enjoyed thinking about, like, how would Dad handle it, whatever, whatever the situation happens to be.

SP: Great. Just a few more. We're almost there. You all have been great.

So again, ah, Mrs. Martinez, I was listening to the [StoryCorps] interview and you spoke about, um, about going to the same church that Matt went to when you were children, right?

JM: Yes

SP: And it seems like the role of religion has been important for your family and for the restaurant. Could you talk a little bit about that?

JM: When we were just married, we decided-excuse me [Clears throat]-to come and move, um, to a part close to the church. So we did that, and she would grow up around the church. And that was very good for us. We had to go too far to church. And we always, when we started getting help, I would go to church first, and then he would go, eleven o'clock, and I stay at the, in the restaurant.

And then some days, is big holiday, we would close, and we would be all together, the whole family. Otherwise I would go first over here, and then he would go later.

But then, by then, all the cooks knew what to cook and how to cook, how to prepare everything. So we were okay. We just taught them what we knew, and give them the recipes, and we left them alone and they did a good job. And we caught a break [unintelligible]. He was still in the front and I was in the front, too, but it was easier than being in the kitchen.

But it was so, it was nice to go to church and be close with the children. But we enjoyed it. We enjoyed-all the time it seemed we were happy and the children were happy. They grew up in the business and that's why I can't keep them away from the business now [GR and CK laugh].

They went away and came back. She got married, went away, and they all came back. I'm happy they're here.

SP: You also mention in the interview that priests and nuns and clergy ate for free at the restaurant?

JM: Yes. Any time we're here and they come to eat with us they all have their free meal, all the religious people.

SP: And that's still true?

JM: It's still true, and we're happy to do it. We have enough food to share.

SP: You mentioned a little bit about this earlier, but just wondering what your vision is for the restaurant in the future, moving forward?

JM: This is completely up to them, because I'm done [JM and GR Laugh].

GR: Well it's good to have my mom, the boss lady, still here because whenever we're in doubt or we need something, or we're not sure about something we can also, always consult with her. But, um, I think my sisters bring a lot of diversity, too, to this great restaurant, and the fact that they have great ideas-Cathy's always, um, so good about remembering, you know, who these people are, and, uh-

JM: She's great for that, Cathy is.

GR: -she's got great connections, great, great connections. And she's just so easy going and she just-I love being with her because she knows so many people. She does everything so eloquently, and it just makes things so easy for us. You know, everybody has their strengths.

My sister [Cecilia]-this place could not be this place without her. Everything about it, inside and out, the kitchen, even the food, everything. Everybody contributes a little bit of something, so together I think it just, it just makes it such a great place to be. Everybody's here doing a little something-something very special.

JM: Cecilia's in charge of the interior and the exterior, so we don't have to worry about it. She takes care of that.

GR: We've been doing succession planning, making sure that everything legally is done, everything is put down on paper, so that, um, as time goes on, our children-and we're inviting them to come to the meetings to be with us, to share with them our ideas-and we're inviting them more than anything so that if they want to, we want them to, um, be able to participate and be around us that are still here that have had a little time in.

And, um, so we're blessed that they're all getting educated, or in college, or some have graduated from college, but they're helping us celebrate our sixtieth anniversary.

They bring a lot of additional diversity that we don't have. They're much more educated than we are, I think. So, but it's a wonderful thing that all of us have is that, ah, we all have this personality that, um, everything kind of clicks, even with our children. I don't know how that is. It's a really gift. I think it comes from my mom and my dad.

And everything just kind of comes together. When they're together, even my son tells me, he says, "You know ma, when my cousins and I are together it's like-even though we may not see each other because we're away in school, but when it comes to El Rancho, when it comes to Grandma and Grandpa, when it comes to my aunts, we're always going to be there for each other and to help each other out. And that's a pretty good testimony to what my mother and dad had done.

SP: I'll say [GR and CK laugh]! So what do you have planned for the sixtieth anniversary?

CK: What do we have planned [Laughs]? I'm sorry, I'm getting tired [CK, CM, and GR laugh].

SP: Yeah, I'm sorry, we're almost there.

CK: We are going to celebrate for three days. Our actual anniversary is July 7th, which is a Saturday, and we're going to be celebrating Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, so the 6th, 7th, and 8th. And we're probably gonna have, um different types of music for-like one night will be mariachis, one night we're thinking about a flamenco act with the dancer and the singer and the guitar player and the clapper.

And then, uh, our GM [General Manager] Ken Hatten, he was, or he is a musician but he's no longer in a band, but he's very well connected in the music industry, and he has a surprise band that he's trying to get [Laughs].

I'm not sure if it's going to happen or not, but if so it'll be a really good surprise-

JM: Is he going to play too?

CK: Oh, no. But it's top secret [GR and JM laugh]. And, uh, and then we're also having our customers contribute stories about their experiences here at Matt's. Some of them got engaged here, or-anyway, have lots of very interesting stories.

There's another, um, musician, Lance. I can't think of Lance's last name, but he says that his band mates and he used to come and, um, and they used to have dinner here and they used to have margaritas, and they used to-Dad used to get a big kick out of them because they used to sing the "Love Boat" song, and they'd, like, stand up and sing the whole "Love Boat" song, and Dad was really amused by that.

And the same guy, Lance-who's last name I forgot-anyway, he had his first date with his, uh, with his wife here, and I think it was a blind date. But they had their first date and it was just really romantic and they fell in love and they got married. So far, his story is the best story [Laughs].

But people are contributing their stories, and we're gonna have drink specials and, and, uh, prizes and balloons for the kids and snow cones and face painting, and that sort of thing.

SP: Well, I know that there are many, many stories-that we could talk for hours, I'm sure, but, um, is there anything final you want to say?

GR: Oh my gosh. Go ahead [To Cecilia].

CM: Oh, I just don't like all this [Gestures to the recording equipment and laughs]. But, um, I just think you brought up God and I just think that we didn't, um-this restaurant has been such a blessing to our family, but I think it's also because Mom and Dad had such a strong faith. You know, they had a great love for each other and a great love for God, and with that combination you really can't fail.

You know, always doing your best for each other, and for God because that's how we do things. And so I just thank that, um, you know, we're just so grateful that we, um-God has taken care of us. And, um, you know, Mom always said that, um, when she starts to worry, she just says, "Where's your faith?" And Dad never worried. And I think it's just when you pray, you just know that everything's in God's hands and everything is okay.

So I just wanted to mention that. And I think that's why whenever clergy would come in-my dad knew pretty much all of them-and he actually prepared a special plate for priests that was just with steak and seafood or different kinds of seafood. He gave them the very best that we had because he was so grateful for their prayers or just, just for our church. And I just think that was important to mention.

JM: When he first told me, he said, uh, excuse me [Clears throat]. He said that he had just purchased the lot across the street, and he told the people from the corner that they were going to [have to] move-that sorry, but he needed the space [GR and CK laugh].

And he bought the next one and the next one until he bought the whole block. I said, "Matt, are you trying to buy the whole block?" He says, "Yes, but don't worry. We'll just keep on going. Don't look back. Gonna get that whole block and then we'll be fine." That's what we did.

CK: I have a final thought, and my final thought is that our parents have given us a gift. It's a gift that keeps on giving. And they have given us the gift of hospitality that we tremendously enjoy, that we can, we can keep on giving for as long as we have the restaurant.

GR: We just continue-You know, so many customers come into our restaurant and they're such diverse customers, and we're just so blessed that we have, ah-they're like our friends, like our family. So it's really spectacular that we're able to visit with them and share things, the good, you know, sometimes the not so good. But it's wonderful stories and time with them, and, uh, they keep coming back because, uh, because they feel good and just like we feel good about being here.

SP: Great, well thank you all so much for taking the time to do this on a Saturday.

GR: Thank you. CK: And thanks to you as well.

JM: Would you like a drink of iced tea or some lunch or something?

SP: I've got some water right here.

JM: Okay.

[END OF INTERVIEW] [1:32:32]