Across from the packing plants along Lawrence Avenue, now Broadway stood a series of restaurants. Among them was El Patio hotel and restaurant with Chata’s next door. When the Guzman family decided to sell Chata’s, the Lopez family took it over and renamed it Connie’s after Concepción Lopez. Lopez got her start making food for parish dinners. Restaurants like these served Mexican American patrons but also helped expose the Anglo community to Mexican food as well.