Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1515764
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2024 | maconmagazine.com 61 BELOW The Marin family poses at the bar. shop, and cleaned houses and offices. On the weekends, she would pack up her car with plates of homemade Mexican food, along with her children, and drive to mobile home communities and Spanish- speaking neighborhoods around Macon. "I remember we were very young when my mom started selling food in neighborhoods where there were Hispanic families," said Angelica's 33-year- old son, German Marin. "Her food has always been delicious. People started recognizing that then." Stand at Smiley's Flea Market Word spread about Angelica's meals, so her now family of five (including her youngest, Allison) decided to start serving plates on the weekends at Smiley's Flea Market on Hawkinsville Rd. As a single mother, Angelica still had to keep her cleaning jobs to provide for her family. They sold dishes inspired by her hometown, such as tacos, quesadillas, menudo (a soup made with cow's stomach in broth with a red chili pepper base), and other plates. Every member of the family helped out, in addition to going to school and working other part-time jobs to chip in. This lasted about eight years before Angelica finally decided it was time to try out this dream of hers. "My children have always helped and supported me. I'm thankful to God that they have never left me alone," Angelica expressed. So, it was no surprise that when she told them she was ready to open a restaurant in Downtown Macon, they were immediately on board. "A lot of people told me it wasn't a good idea to open a restaurant in Downtown Macon. They said there were 'different' people in this area, who wouldn't like my type of food," said Angelica. "So, I took it as a challenge."