WRITEON FOR OCT 9
sister alies.
COMMUNITY BUILDING 8
BIENVENIDO A LA COSTA OAXAQUENA...Authentic Mexican Restaurant...yes, the one on Hwy 15...across from Dollar General...
Loads of folks have found this one of five restaurants in MS (the newest in Kosciusko), to be the best place to eat on just about any day but Saturday (closed).
They are certainly bordering on not being a 'small business' but I suspected they had some of the same difficulties I'd discovered elsewhere.
Luis Felipe Cabrera Cruz is the manager and what a good one he is! I have never gone in to eat there when either he or one of his staff doesn't open the door, speak cheerfully, and show concern for how things are. We talked at length about what makes a good manager. (He says it is ‘cultural’!)”First,” he said, “I love my job. I love the customers and I love to chat to them. I love living in Ackerman, especially because it is a relaxed life.” Luis is a young man with growth on his mind. He is happy to relate well with his boss and he said he is learning so much because he feels his boss is training him well from one level to the next. Being a manager is a big responsibility.
A manager also worries about his employees, and he only hires those who, like him, project a friendly and service oriented work ethic. “This is what makes the business work: good food, good service, good prices, and a clean place. It is also a cultural experience for everyone because the food is authentic from the southern part of Mexico (Oaxaca) and is family oriented.”
COSTA provides 7 jobs (including his) and yes, they put in long hours. Customers come from all over.
“I feel so good. I've never been interviewed before!” He was a delight to talk to and we turned to the future.
There is a FB page but he is convinced it is really personal relationships and word of mouth that brings in new customers. “I have ideas I share with my boss to enrich the menu...like maybe we need to have some 'specials', or add to our decoration with sombreros or pinatas. Our shirts have our name and that helps people remember. Maybe we need to change up the buffet once in awhile.”
Luis has been here almost as long as the COSTA has been open...oh, that's 3 years. “I love it here. But it is hard to keep a business going so we have to pay attention all the time.”
OPEN: SUNDAY-FRI 11-9, Buffet 11-2.
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FOR YOUR INFORMATION: The NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet is Oct 12, that's this Saturday, at 7pm in our beautiful Community Center. Tickets $20 (I might even have some to sell!) Here's an opportunity to have a great meal and participate in an organization over 100 years old, striving to bring justice to all people. See U there?
BLESSINGS.
