Jaime and Elvira Parra have e a seat and take in their newest business venture, Los Parra’s, located on North Interocean Avenue in Holyoke. — Johnson Publications
Restaurants a tradition for Parra family
The dining room has been full and the kitchen working hard to keep up with demand at Los Parra’s since opening its doors earlier this month. Word spread quickly around Holyoke Aug. 4 when, without fanfare, the newest downtown restaurant began serving customers.
This week, Jaime and Elvira took a moment out of their busy schedule to sit down and talk about how things are going at their new business. Early in the morning, before they opened, sounds and smells were already coming from the kitchen. It takes a lot of time to run Los Parra’s, Jaime explained, which isn’t surprising for an establishment open from 11 a.m.- 8 p.m. every day of the week.
The Parras moved recently to Holyoke specifically to start the new business. Previously, they were living in Ogallala, Nebraska, where Jaime worked at Mi Ranchito, a restaurant owned by his brother. For those thinking Mi Ranchito sounds familiar, there’s good reason for that. In addition to Ogallala, there are several other locations in Nebraska, including Scottsbluff, Sidney, Gothenburg and Alliance.
Jaime started the family business when he opened his first restaurant in Scottsbluff in 1991. It was quite small, he noted, but since then, they have expanded in size and numbers. Twenty-six years later, many of his family members either own or work in the restaurants, and the tradition has begun to spread across generations. Rattling off the various family members in the industry, Jaime noted a handful of his many brothers and sisters, as well as his in-laws. He also pointed out that each of his four children has worked in the Nebraska restaurants.
Jaime immigrated to the United States from Mexico when he was still a teenager. While some family remains in Chihuahua, most live in the Nebraska area. In the time since that first Scottsbluff restaurant was established, Jaime and his family have moved around, helping develop the newer businesses.
The full article is available in our e-Edition. Click here to subscribe.