Family owned restaurant receives support on last day of business
WEST POINT, Miss. (WCBI) – It can be surprising for some, that restaurants can gain a huge connection to the community.
In, West Point, a local Mexican restaurant, La Fiesta Brava, has done just that.
They had their last day until further notice on Sunday, September 1.
The family-owned Mexican restaurant La Fiesta Brava has been open for almost 30 years.
The news was announced weeks ago that the restaurant would close until further notice.
The owner said he received a shockingly large amount of support from the West Point community.
“It’s amazing, I wasn’t expecting it,” Jose Arellano said. “We announced it on Facebook, I thought it was just going to be a “thumbs up” kind of deal but it was phone calls, text messages, and people posting on Facebook and it’s impressive. I am amazed at the support of the community.”
Citizens in the city started fundraisers to help raise money for the restaurant to continue serving West Point in the future.
With this being the last day the restaurant is open, the staff says they will not close until the last customer leaves.
Some customers said they have been going to the Mexican restaurant since it first opened which was over 20 years ago.
“It’s my all-time favorite place to eat,” Laura Berry said. “Literally, I am not just saying that to be nice, it’s literally my favorite place to eat. we came here for birthday parties, we’ve come here every Sunday after church for lunch, we come here if we are having a bad day.”
Customers said that the restaurant will truly be missed.
“So we came intentionally today to celebrate and just to tell everybody that we are going to miss them and what they meant to us,” Jean Moore said. “So, we have never had a bad experience here, like I said we have been coming for 28 to 30 years. Every wait staff, everybody that has been here has always been very friendly. Food is always good but that’s not what we are going to miss, we are going to miss the people.”
“They got a lot of history through these walls, down the little walkways, and, in those booths,” Anna Hamby said. “I mean, there is a lot of history in there, a lot of tears, a lot of laughs, a lot of hugs, and everything like that. I just wish nothing but the best for them, seriously.”
The owner of La Fiesta Brava said he is looking forward to reopening the restaurant in the near future.
