March 15, 2022 – In the early days of Doña Esther’s, founder Al Castañeda came up with a novel way to bring customers into his restaurant in San Juan Bautista.
“The Mexican restaurant across the street, Jardines de San Juan, didn’t open until 11:30,” he says. “So I had a mariachi band start three blocks away by the bakery and parade down Third Street. They would pass the people waiting for Jardines to open and tell them to come to Doña Esther’s instead.”
Known by locals simply as “Doña’s,” the destination restaurant anchors San Juan’s Third Street Historic District. While Castañeda, 76, retired in 2015, his daughter Tami Castañeda-Huaracha has carried on with the business, which is now celebrating its 40th anniversary with food, music, and dance.
Castañeda came to San Juan Bautista from Mexico City in 1952, at age eight, with his mother Amparo and his grandparents, Esther and José del Carmen. In 1966, he became a meat cutter, working in small independent markets.
“I ended up knowing a lot of people in the food business,” Castañeda says. “And I started to get the idea of opening my own restaurant. And the bottom line is, I always wanted to do something like that for my grandmother.”
Castañeda says Doña Esther was generous, particularly with her cooking, and was known for feeding anyone who stopped by, whether a family friend or a traveling salesman.
“She would tell me not to worry about food,” he says. “She would say ‘Where you can feed one, you can feed two. And if you can feed two, you can feed three.’ She was a great person and I learned from her how easy it is to be kind to people.”
Castañeda chose a location that had been home to a long string of unsuccessful restaurants. Every time one of them closed, he would try to rent it, only to be refused.
“The owner kept telling me I was too young, even though I was in my 30s,” he says. “Finally, after the sixth time a business closed, he called me and said ‘This has been going on so long, maybe you are meant to have it.’”
Doña Esther’s grew to be a success, taking over neighboring spaces in the building to create more dining areas, a banquet room, and a full bar. From the start, his daughter Tami Castañeda-Huaracha and her sister Julie (now a teacher) worked along with Castañeda to build the business.
“We definitely had our work cut out for us,” Castañeda-Huaracha says. “We had a competitor who had already been here seven years. If we made $500 in a day, we thought that was fantastic—we could pay our expenses on that. But we established relationships that are still going strong today.”
The tight budget and small staff meant that Castañeda-Huaracha was constantly busy. “If you came in then,” she says, “I would have greeted you at the door, sat you down, got your chips and made your drinks, and taken your order. Then I would have gone back to the kitchen, made your order, then I would bring it out to you. And I would do everything I could to make you happy.”
Doña Esther’s became the place to go for family occasions and local celebrations. It is rare to walk in and not see several tables put together down the center of the main dining room, filled with two dozen or more people dining together.
“It is the epitome of San Juan and the hub of this small community,” says long-time customer Churie Foletta. “I grew up coming here to eat and every time I walk in the door, I see someone I know eating here. The food is consistently wonderful and you will never come here without having a good time.”
While the wide variety of Mexican specialties the restaurant serves have maintained their authenticity over the years, the atmosphere and customer service are just as important to Castañeda as the chile verde, carne asada and chicharrones on the menu.
“I want everyone coming here to feel welcome,” he says, “To be a restaurant person, you have to be able to make people feel like they are kings. But I also want them to feel like they are members of my family.”
When Castañeda retired, he had no qualms about leaving he daughter in charge. “Doña Esther helped raise her,” he said, “and I feel that gives Tami a greater bond with the restaurant I named after my grandmother. It warms my heart to know that my daughter took this restaurant of mine and made it even better. Looking back on my life and her life here, I have nothing but beautiful thoughts about what we have done.”
On March 22, the anniversary of the actual opening date, Castañeda and Castañeda-Huaracha will be greeting customers during a small celebration with a menu full of specials. On March 25, the city will be closing down the block in front of the restaurant for a full-scale party including mariachi music and young Folklorico dancers. San Juan’s Brewery 25 has also created a special beer for the event.
About the author
Robert Eliason is a documentary photographer and photojournalist and has been based in San Juan Bautista for the last 12 years. Recently he has been doing extensive reporting on the wineries, breweries and specialty food companies of San Benito County, and is documenting the history of the Cienega Valley wine region.
