Mariela Rodriguez (center) and Antonio Torres (right) smile for a photo with daughter Diana at their family restaurant Maye’s Grill in downtown Franklin.
Emily Ketterer | Daily Journal
Growing up in Venezuela, Mariela Rodriguez dreamed of running her own small restaurant one day.
Around 30 years later in Franklin, she’s living that reality. She and her husband, Antonio Torres, opened their restaurant, Maye’s Grill, this month.
Maye’s Grill at 89 E. Jefferson St. brings a new option to Franklin, Rodriguez said. The restaurant is focused on express food service, similar to chains like Chipotle and Qdoba. Employees put orders together in front of customers, and meals are ready to go in minutes.
Customers come inside, and can pick from a variety of meals on the menu from nachos and tacos to burrito bowls and taco salads. They then can customize their meals with the meat, beans, rice, vegetables, cheese and other toppings of their choice from the ingredients bar at the front counter.
Rodriguez and Torres had the idea to pursue a fast Mexican restaurant versus a traditional restaurant because of the work and school culture in the area. People tend to want to grab food quickly and head back to work for lunch.
“This is one country where the people are working every day, or people are in class … we thought it was very important that people come in, take your food in five minutes, maybe go back to work,” Rodriguez said.
Another standout for Maye’s is the restaurant’s late hours. The shop is open until 2 a.m. on weekdays and 4 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. Most places in downtown Franklin, apart from a couple of bars open until 2 a.m., aren’t open that late.
Rodriguez saw most places aren’t open late, so they capitalized on it. The owner of the building they rent, Linda Frichette, also thought it was a great idea. So far, they usually have customers late at night, Rodriguez said. She hopes the late hours will cater to people who are out late at bars, and also Franklin College students.
“A lot of people are excited about the hours,” she said.
Rodriguez and her husband have a combined 18 years in restaurant experience. He worked at another Mexican restaurant for 13 years prior, and she worked at the same restaurant for five years. That’s where they met, when Rodriguez first came to the United States from Venezuela five years ago.
Together, they revived her original dream to open a restaurant from when she lived in Venezuela. Over time, she had forgotten about that as she pursued a law career there.
The opportunity presented itself when the space at 89 E. Jefferson Street in Franklin was up for lease again. They were looking for a small location that maybe was already a restaurant before, and they thought this space was perfect to start. The former tenant, My Super Taqueria, moved back to the food truck and the owner offered to sell all the inside furniture to them.
“Why Franklin? When I came here for the first time, I thought ‘this is the place.’ The people are very nice, friendly,” Rodriguez said.
The food at Maye’s Grill is largely from family recipes Torres knows from growing up in Mexico. They then mix those with ingredients and foods Americans like, she said.
It’s a family business. They both are at the restaurant every day working, along with other employees and some family members helping. Rodriguez has learned a lot about owning a restaurant in the last couple of weeks, she said.
“I’ve learned a lot about people and how you should always think about the food and showing respect and friendliness to people,” Rodriguez said.
People in Franklin have raved about Maye’s Grill since it opened on June 9. Several customers have posted positive comments and pictures on social media, and they shared their praise to the owners in person. The restaurant almost always has a line of customers inside around peak lunch time.
With this success so far, Rodriguez has a goal of possibly expanding in the future with small franchises.
“I would like to say thank you to the people of Franklin,” Rodriguez said. “We are very excited about the receptivity. This is our first step for one big dream. I’m happy we can be here.”
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