The health inspector slowly walked from room to room, fiercely scanning for flaws. The young owners, Luis, 25, and Leo Mejia, 21, sat in the dining area with their parents and business partners, Isela, 52, and Luis “Omar” Mejia Sr., 59. They listened intently to her faint words because one mistake could delay their restaurant opening by 10 days.
Their nerves grew tighter with each fault the inspector marked. There weren’t enough lights there, there, or there… but if the family could install new lights before the end of the workday, she’d pass them.
The family sped to the nearest store for lightbulbs and diligently installed the requested lighting, knowing they needed an A.
And with that, the Mejia family passed the inspection, and Chela’s Latin Cuisine was ready to open.
A Downtown restaurant and nightclub, Chela’s Latin Cuisine opened April 18 on the corner of Congress Street and South Arizona Avenue. Luis and Leo transformed a dusty, rundown, and out-of-shape brick building into what they hope will become their legacy.
The project started with their parents, Isela and Luis Omar, who opened their first restaurant in 2002. The young couple started running food trucks around Tucson, all while parenting small toddlers.
“I would wake up at like 5 in the morning and hear my parents chopping up meat to go to the construction sites in their taco trucks,” said the oldest daughter, Ramona, 27.
Omar and Isela have owned El Sur Mexican Restaurant for 22 years.
“I have vivid memories of helping them paint the walls when we got the location on 22nd and Craycroft,” said Ramona, recalling the yellow and red colors. The children grew up in El Sur eventually working as busers, cashiers and servers.
Not only did it become their second home, but it was also their dojo, where they would learn the fundamentals of owning a business, running a restaurant and becoming self-starters.
“We’re very adamant on customer service,” Isela said.
Establishing a connection is the key to keeping lifelong customers like Diana Davis, 59, and Herb Rogers, 67, who have been El Sur’s loyal regulars for 16 years.
“They treat every customer as if they were your family,” said Davis as she high fived one of the servers. Davis first came for their chili relleno but stayed for the hugs, the laughs and the love.
Inspired by El Sur, Chela’s aims to bring loyal love to Downtown Tucson. According to Omar, a Honduran immigrant, and born-and-raised entrepreneur, creating loyalty comes from thinking about the customer more than their payment.
“When you’re not only thinking of money, the money coming by itself,” Omar said. “But if it’s only money, money, money, you don’t get it.”
After watching their parents for more than 20 years, the two brothers felt ready to take the torch, which was not the original plan.
As the oldest, Ramona was handed the most responsibility in El Sur. Despite her teenage objections, she was expected to take over the family restaurant one day.
“My brothers were supposed to go the sports route when it came to their futures,” Ramona said. “I just knew for a fact that I wasn’t cut out for it.”
According to Ramona, it only made sense for her brothers to immerse themselves in the hectic and demanding lifestyle they watched their parents live.
“I know for a fact my parents have definitely instilled the hardworking trait and value in them,” Ramona said. “It’s very fitting that they were to be doing this.”
Although all three children left to pursue different interests, they ultimately decided to return home for Chela’s. In the final reckoning, they want to build on the foundation their parents paved for them, “because family is what you have,” Luis said.
The family transformed into a solid business team, but the children clashed with their parents when creating the vision for Chela’s.
“We’re still in the mom-and-pop mentality, while they are not,” Isela said, referring to the extra costs they reluctantly supported to perfect the restaurant’s elegant and modern presentation.
“We had to get out of our comfort zone,” Isela said. “This is the beginning of many more that we want to open in the future.” The family also owns Ocean View Hotel and Restaurant in Roatan, Honduras, which opened in 2022.
Isela and Omar handed the reigns to Luis and Leo so they could focus on El Sur. Although the family created the concept of Chela’s Latin Cuisine together, Luis, who has a degree in advanced fashion design, took charge of the restaurant’s aesthetic, aiming for an upscale and trendy atmosphere.
The all-black furniture is complemented with hot pink accents throughout the area, including a custom pink neon sign stating, “Pasarme la Chela,” hung on a greenery wall, which Luis crafted. The saying means “pass me the drink” but Chela is also the term for a fun, vibrant party girl.
“And I feel like that’s my mom,” Leo said. “Chela” was Isela’s nickname growing up.
“We pretty much named the restaurant after her, named the vibe after her,” Leo said. “And I feel like it’s an honor to her and my father to show that their hard work wasn’t in vain, and that we want to expand the family name.”
After the tight-knit family gussied up Chela in black and hot pink, she is ready to take on the wild Downtown. Customers should not only prepare for the glimmer and shine of the nightlife but also for warm service.
“Of course, you can do things with a crap ton of money. You can just pay a bunch of people to become a team but we aren’t that,” Luis said. “We basically need each other. We need family.”
Chela’s Latin Cuisine
256 E. Congress Street, Tucson
520-867-6096
chelaslatincuisine.com
