OUR STORY

She always dreamed of coming to America and pursuing her dreams of opening a Mexican restaurant. When she first arrived to the United States, she began working in a small restaurant in Houston, TX. There she began to broaden her horizon and knowledge of cooking techniques as she met her husband Jose.

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Together they believed that opening a Mexican restaurant could bring great success. Jose had a sister in Chicago. IL. She would always tell him about what a beautiful city it was and that a Mexican restaurant would be perfect near or around the neighborhood she lived in. The neighborhood was Humboldt Park and in 1983 on Pulaski and between North and Grand Ave, they opened Marlon’s Mexican Restaurant .

They decided to name the restaurant, Marlon’s, after their first and only born son who was born the previous year. They imagine that the people of Chicago would come to appreciate the authentic Mexican taste of Maria’s cooking, but never in their wildest dreams did they think if would develop into the sensation it ended it up becoming. In 1990, they opened up Marlon’s Mexican Restaurant on the corner of Austin and Grand Ave. This was followed by Marlon’s Mexican III in Mount Prospect. The restaurant received many awards and much recognition as being one of the elite Mexican restaurants in Chicago would and in the surrounding areas. To make things a bit easier for themselves, they ended up selling two of the three restaurants and opening up a beautiful banquet hall named Villa Maria.

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Having a banquet hall and watching people having fun and dancing to great music inspired Jose and Maria to open up a night club. In 1999, they opened up Marlon’s night club across the street form the one restaurant they decided to keep on Grand Ave. As their son became older he decided to become more involved in the businesses by helping out his parents whether at the restaurant, banquet hall, or the night club. In 2003, Jose, Maria and Marlon decided that it was time for a change. The neighborhood wasn’t what it once was and they has always talked about moving to warmer weather. Having come to South Florida on many occasions for vacation, they decided to move to Miami.

After searching and studying the areas outside of Miami to see which areas were on the rise , the family not only found Hollywood, FL, but also discovered the hidden Gem which is the Broad walk and its spectacular view. Along with the change of cities, they decided to go with a new name for the restaurant. When Marlon saw some of the beautiful women on the beach, the first word that came out of his mouth was “Mamacita” which translate to sexy or fine looking woman.  Mamacita’s would like to thank you for stopping by and we hope to see you come back over and over again.