By Luisa Loi
La Conner Community News
If you factor in the different challenges plaguing small businesses today, opening a restaurant might sound like a recipe for disappointment, with a generous side of debt. But for Santo Coyote Mexican Kitchen, strong family bonds, neighborly solidarity and Ofelia Cortes’ culinary magic have been key ingredients in a successful 10-year run.
From 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Santo Coyote will celebrate the people who made this first double-digit anniversary possible, offering food and drink specials, as well as a complimentary appetizer and dessert buffet.
The business has been a colorful fixture on Morris Street since 2016, when Cortes teamed up with her daughters, Belen Arias Cortes and Cristal Perkins, to bring authentic Mexican flavors to La Conner. The sisters were joined by their brother, Martin Arias Cortes, when he came aboard three years ago as a server.
While Ofelia Cortes and her family had been intertwined with the restaurant world for a long time, she had never been the one in charge. Nevertheless, she jumped into the opportunity head first, armed with old legal note pads filled with recipes and stains and years of experience.
But as is the case for many new entrepreneurs, it took some time for Santo Coyote to become profitable.
“We spent quite a few months working on hopes and dreams,” Perkins recalled. “We opened in November, and I don’t think any of us took a paycheck until April of that next year.”
In 2019, the family added a bar and applied for a liquor license, feeling confident that 2020 would be their year. In March, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the barely three-year-old restaurant to lay off half of its staff, putting its future into question.
The community, however, rallied to support local businesses, and Santo Coyote’s makeshift to-go window saw a consistent flow of meals and drinks flowing out of the restaurant.
“We had people that were eating at the restaurant, like I’m not even overexaggerating, three or four times a week,” Perkins said. “That was very special to us.”
Within a month, the entire team had returned to work.
“Weathering the pandemic as a new business owner was a rough spot. And then things kept on getting better and better,” Perkins said.
Whether it be for Ofelia’s pork chile verde, Belen’s margaritas with syrups made from scratch (including the pumpkin spice margarita), the friendly staff or the fundraisers to support their community, Santo Coyote has built a loyal customer base over the years.
“It’s been a really good growth experience,” Belen said.
For more information, visit Santo Coyote Mexican Restaurant on Facebook.
Luisa Loi is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.
Belen Arias Cortes hands a margarita to a thirsty reporter.
