TikTok Meets Tradition at Ana's on Maple Avenue

Ana’s restaurant is homey and clean inside. White chairs and tables are surrounded by wood paneling walls; there's even a full living room set, making it feel like home, which is exactly how the owners want it.

Andres Soto and his wife, Georgina Rosales, opened Ana’s (named after their youngest daughter) almost 15 years ago. Their daughter, Andrea, helps them run the kitchen and dining room, where they serve authentic Mexican food inspired by their hometowns of Tulancingo and Huasca de Ocampo in Hidalgo.

Recently, business has been slow, so after decades in the restaurant business, they had to delve into a new strategy: social media.

“Last year was when the business really went down, like it wasn't even like this during COVID. I think we had more sales during COVID,” Andrea says. She attributes the downturn in part to the new administration in the White House, which has increased anti-immigrant rhetoric and employed tactics that have frightened many in the Latino community. 

Thankfully, they have found a promising solution to help generate more business: TikTok and Instagram.

“We've been doing pretty OK," Andrea says. "Thank God we've improved a little bit with social media, and we're very happy about that."

It was actually their chilaquiles that led them to the social media bump. Enitrea Mussa stopped by one day about two months ago for an order of the breakfast staple, which Ana's serves all day. Mussa had just been laid off and asked the family if she could help them with social media. They called her the next day, and from there, they made a plan to start making videos and invested in some paid promotions.

However, it was a fun, organic video of the two daughters dancing that went viral, garnering over 130,000 views. After that first week, sales at the restaurant doubled, and for three weeks afterward, business steadily grew, especially on weekends. It has since slowed down, but they are determined to bring it back up.

“It started off good, you know, we were surprised our video went a little viral, so that helped my parents' business a lot, but it's been a little slow now, once again, and we just hope we can come up again,” Andrea says, adding that they try to post at least five times a week.

"If it hadn't been for Andrea and Eritrea, I think we would have been almost closed because it went downhill, and when they started to make videos, business started to pick up,” Andres says. Andres has also started creating content, specifically videos of him cooking certain dishes, such as chilaquiles and sopes, which lends authenticity to their recipes, something the family prides itself on. Some of the Hidalgo-style dishes on the menu include barbacoa de borrego (lamb), a weekend special where lamb wrapped in maguey leaves is cooked over mesquite wood.

They also serve menudo, pozole, carne asada, bistec a la Mexicana, chilaquiles con huevo y carne, mariscos, tacos and so much more. Also, the tortillas are made by hand and their rice is made fresh daily.

"We try to make it really good,” Andres says. “We're never going to match Mexico or what is really cooked in Mexico, but we're going to get as close as we can — we even make molcajete sauce."

The family has also added weekday specials, including albondigas en chile chipotle (meatballs in chipotle chili) and costillas de puerco (pork ribs). Customers who leave an online review (currently sitting at 4.4 stars on Google) receive a complimentary agua fresca.

Follow their social media for special events as well, like the Cinco de Mayo dinner and tequila tasting alongside DTX Supper Club. The menu includes a fixed course of appetizers, a main course, sides and dessert.

Andres and Georgina are diving in. They want people to experience their cultural cuisine and showcase what Ana’s restaurant has to offer the community. If that requires a little dancing on TikTok, they're here for it.

Ana's Restaurant, 4626 Maple Ave. Monday - Friday 9 a.m. - 8:30 p.m.; Saturday 8:30 a.m. - 8:30 p.m.; Sunday 9 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.