The historic Matta’s Restaurants, in Mesa, began with Manuel and Marylou.
In 1940, Manuel Matta and Marylou Lerma were married. After starting a family, serving his country in the Marines and living in California, Manuel and Marylou decided to relocate to Arizona to open a restaurant.
In 1947, they decided that in order to learn everything about the restaurant business and family recipes, they would move to Pecos, Texas, to work with Manuel’s brother and sister-in-law, Ben and Chuy Matta, who owned a Mexican food restaurant called Ben’s Spanish Inn. After two years, they had their sights set on their future home being in Safford, Arizona, but stopped off in Mesa because something about it impressed them enough to want to build a future here.
Manuel and Marylou opened their first Matta’s Restaurant in 1953, and brought the West Texas-style of Mexican food to Arizona. Manuel and Marylou’s oldest son, David, watched his parents work hard to build up their small business. In 1958, he began working as a dishwasher in their new building on Main Street.
By the time he was in high school, David had learned to cook and create Mexican food the way his grandparents taught his own parents. However, it was not until 1966 that he began working full time to support his own family and finish college at Arizona State University. By then, both his parents were very involved as community volunteers in both the City of Mesa and the State of Arizona.
In 1982, David’s son, Peter, came to work at Matta’s on Main Street. He worked hard and worked his way up over the years, from a busboy, to a cook, to kitchen manager. Peter eventually became restaurant manager of Matta’s on Main Street.
Good food was Peter’s passion, and he mastered the art of the family’s West Texas-style Mexican food. He saw the big future for Matta’s Restaurant, and wanted to expand. Matta’s Mexican Grill opened in December 2002, on Higley Road. Business has been thriving, thanks to good food, fast service and a great clientele.
A total of four generations of Matta’s have been working and running Matta’s Restaurants. In 2008, after 55 years in the same location, Matta’s was moving from Main Street. Peter and Gretchen Matta had plans for Matta’s Restaurant in the new Mesa Riverview Shopping Center. As much as they missed Main Street, the new building had great potential, especially with its easy access just off the freeway. They saved and restored everything they could from the original location on Main Street to include in the new Matta’s Grill and Cantina, making it a familiar atmosphere.
Today, Matta’s has four locations, with the newest location here in Northeast Mesa. Matta’s Cantina, located on the northeast corner of Ellsworth and Brown roads, is the perfect neighborhood hangout or a great venue for private parties. We still serve our traditional West Texas-style Mexican food, which we have served to more than six generations of wonderful customers. Thank you for all the support.
For more information, call (480) 655-8646. Matta’s Mexican Grill is located at 1105 N. Higley Road.