Abonce was flattered at the honor of being the namesake for Mama Margie’s, according to Stehling, as the restaurant is not only named after her but also uses all of her original recipes and cooking techniques. Abonce is retired, but continues to aid with the training of new chefs when possible. Her pictures are in all of the restaurants and she enjoys free meals for life.
Kitchen Kudoz
fresh ingredients -- produce is delivered daily -- and ingredients that are prepared 100% from scratch, will continue to please the people of Schertz in their dining experience. The opening of Mama Margie’s in Schertz created about 110 jobs, and Stehling explains that all of the employees are from the area, including the managers, who were hired from the area six months before opening and trained in the San Antonio restaurants. The business has had a warm reception in Schertz, with patrons from the local schools, families, and our mayor, Mike Carpenter, who has “been a great customer.”
Pat Stehling explained that Mama Margie’s is completely family owned and operated, with over a dozen family members working with the company. The four locations are owned by six relatives including brother Mike Stehling, three of his nephews, and his daughter. Sadly, the third Stehling brother, Felix, passed away in December 2012. Pat Stehling’s daughter, Lauren Chambers, owns and operates the new Schertz location.
Stehling plans on being a part of the Schertz community “for a long time,” asserting, “we want the experience to be a good one, if not, tell me and we’ll correct the problem.” In the short amount of time that Mama Margie’s has been in Schertz, Stehling says he’s “met a lot of great people,” many of whom have already established themselves as regular patrons.
When Chambers decided to return to the family business four years ago after attending Texas A&M and earning a degree in environmental science, she “felt at home.” Chambers explains that she “always gravitated towards [the restaurant].” Upon his daughter’s return to the family business, Stehling recalls that he gave her the “standard speech,” including advice such as “you are crazy, you are out of your mind, you work weekends and holidays.” In the end, Stehling is ecstatic to have his daughter rejoin the family team that has served the San Antonio area with fresh, homemade Mexican food for the past decade.
Stehling feels that the best part of his job is “seeing a customer come every day, or often, the return customer reinforces the job that I’m doing and product I’m serving. It might be for a 69 cent bean and cheese taco, but loyalty is what makes me want to get up in the morning.” Mama Margie’s is open 24 hours a day to suit any schedule, with a margarita happy hour until 10 pm Monday through Friday. Self-serve homemade chips and salsa are bottomless, refills are endless, and the dine-in experience at Mama Margie’s has a welcoming casualness that makes it the perfect choice for any night of the week. The convenient drive through extends the dining option to patrons who wish to bring their fresh Mexican food home or to the office. Bean and cheese tacos are perpetually on sale, and the restaurant website mamamargies.com is updated regularly with new specials on breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Stehling comments that although all of the family member/owners of Mama Margie’s have different occupational backgrounds, including banking, accounting, teaching and environmental science, their “common thread is customer service, which is lacking in a lot of businesses today. Direct involvement is what we think makes the difference between us and the common restaurant.” Exceptional customer service paired with freshly prepared food join to make Mama Margie’s a fantastic dining experience. Schertz restaurant owner Lauren Chambers boasts that the only freezer in the restaurant is used to chill the margarita mugs. Chambers is confident that the
Top: Lauren Chambers and customer.s Third pic from top: Patrick Stehling and daughter Lauren Chambers.
Mama Margies in Schertz is located at 17196 N. Interstate 35.
FEBRUARY 2013 schertzmagazine.com
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