Born and raised in the restaurant industry, sisters Angela and Miriam El Haj of Anaheim’s Calaca Mamas Cantina — celebrating its second anniversary this month — spent their early years “working” in restaurants. That is, if you call playing waitress inside their father’s handful of eateries, including Anaheim Pizza, Spaghetti Company and an IHOP, work. Nevertheless, the child’s play gave them a head start in the food game despite trying to forge a career outside of restaurants.
“I tried to get out of it. I went to school to study other things,” says Miriam. “Restaurant life not glamorous. It’s very hard work. And it’s very demanding. But we kept getting pulled back and getting pulled back and now we love it.”
As the two followed in their parents’ footsteps and became second-generation restaurateurs, jointly opening multiple IHOP and Dave’s Hot Chicken locations, it wasn’t until the passing of their mother in 2019 that the duo found a way to honor her legacy with an original concept, Calaca Mamas Cantina.
“I’m just going to say it: Our mom was a badass. … She went from handling the office and clerical side of the business.” When their father passed away in 2009, their mother took over the reins of the restaurant before she died a decade later. Built on the themes of family, comfort and food with a Mexican-American bent, Calaca Mamas launched in 2022.
While the two had footing in the franchise industry, creating an original brand from the ground up was virgin territory. The tried and true methods of operating established dining spots like an IHOP and a Dave’s Hot Chicken (which have 1,699 and 199 franchises in the United States, respectively) don’t always work for a new restaurant.
SEE ALSO: These are some of the oldest restaurants in Orange County
“In the restaurant industry there’s such a high rate of failure — and we just couldn’t have a failure,” said Angela. “This wasn’t a learning experience that we could fail at, so we hired a consulting company to help us navigate how to set up a restaurant so we wouldn’t fall into any pitfalls that we weren’t going to be aware of.”
The food at Calaca Mamas Cantina, according to Miriam, is nearly an all-organic affair. “We are pretty much 90% all organic. Our beef is grass-fed. The fish are line-caught; there is no farm-raised fish. The eggs are all-cage free, non-GMO or refined foods. We use all real ingredients made from scratch. So important, it’s important to us to not only be delicious, but to also get to be nutritious and not feel bad feeding your kids this every single day.”
Regarding culinary inspiration, Calaca Mamas Cantina focuses on three regions of Mexico, according to the sisters. “It’s a very authentic take that we’ve taken to Mexican culture,” said Miriam. “Mexico is huge. It’s a huge country with many states and many taste buds and flavor profiles. We’ve chosen to highlight more of the Oaxacan area with a bit of an Acapulco and Baja California embrace. That’s where we pull our inspiration from.”
The dual-sided ofrenda at Calaca Mamas Cantina. (Photo by Bob Hodson, courtesy of Calaca Mamas Cantina)
The sisters make it clear that, while neither of the two are of Mexican descent, their restaurant aims to respect Mexico and its culture — specifically, Día de los Muertos. An ofrenda (a decorative altar honoring the dead, usually found in homes during Día de los Muertos celebrations) remains a central piece of design at Calaca Mamas Cantina. The name itself calaca — sugar skulls, or, literally “skeleton” in Spanish — tips its hat to the holiday honoring the dead.
“Angela and I are not Mexican, right? This is just a piece of area’s culture that we love, so it’s literally paying homage to it. Angela and I lost both of our parents. To us, the idea of the Mexican culture that celebrates life, instead of constantly mourning it, is such a beautiful thing.”
Related Articles
Red Lobster abruptly closes dozens of restaurants around US
Cassano’s in San Clemente announces closure after 38 years
Angels Deals: Free food and discounts for fans based on Angels games
Mark Wahlberg opens Mexican restaurant in Huntington Beach
New Orange County dining favorites arriving at John Wayne Airport
Ever since opening in the former Captain Kidd’s on South Harbor Boulevard across the street from Disneyland, Calaca Mamas has proven a hit with customers. To celebrate its two years, a limited birthday menu will be offered throughout May, which will include new cocktails, brunch offerings (like a chorizo eggs Benedict), new tapas (a hat tip to the sisters’ Spanish heritage), and sweet cinnamon nachos.
Angela and Miriam, who are married to men outside the food-slinging game (“our husbands have never been involved in any of the restaurants or this businesses, and we just kind of kept it that way,” noted Angela), also have the distinction of being women in what is typically a male-heavy field. From restaurateurs, to the rise of the bro chef, to (ahem) even food writers, men have been overrepresented in the restaurant industry ever since Mathurin Roze de Chantoiseau opened the first modern restaurant on the Rue des Poulies in 1765.
SEE ALSO: Michelin adds Orange County restaurant to its California guide
“You find yourself having to be a lot more vocal and assertive for yourself and for your employees,” Angela said. “You definitely feel outnumbered when you go to any local entrepreneur or restaurant events.” She also notes that the camaraderie men offer each other in the industry isn’t felt to genders outside of their own. “They don’t extend the olive branch to their female counterparts,” she added.
But a shift in gender morns appears to be moving when it comes to the male-saturated industry, especially in Orange County, Angela said. “There is a good movement that we are seeing in the last couple of years, especially in Southern California and Orange County, with amazing female powerhouses coming through and establishing coffee houses and restaurants.”
“There’s room for everyone to shine at the top,” said Angela. “There’s no need to knock anybody down. There’s room for everyone.”
Leave a Reply