photograph by bruce vanwyngarden
Bartender Dana Sutherland with a “Top Shelf Margarita.”
Molly’s La Casita has a history in Memphis that goes back 50 years. Originally opened by Molly Gonzalez in 1974 in a tiny building on Lamar Avenue, it stands today as the oldest Mexican restaurant in Memphis, though the location and ownership have changed.
In 1982, Gonzalez confided to one of her regular customers that she was going to have to close her restaurant. That diner, Robert Chapman, bought the place and moved it to its current location on Madison Avenue near Overton Square, where it has flourished ever since — though ownership has changed again in recent years. More on that later.
Bartender Dana Sutherland has her own decades-long history with Molly’s. “When we were kids, my parents used to take my sister Kelly and me to the original Molly’s on Lamar,” she says. “And then, two years after Robert moved to this location, Kelly started working here. She was general manager for a long time, and just retired three years ago.”
Like her sister, Sutherland is no stranger to the restaurant business; her career began at RP Tracks in 1988. “I was the first manager and only employee there for a while,” she says with a smile. “But then it caught on.”
“The bartenders get all the glory, but the people in the back are the real stars. Our menu is huge, and they create it all back in that tiny kitchen. It’s like a dance, watching them work around each other.” — Dana Sutherland
After RP Tracks, Sutherland worked at Zinnie’s and Brontë for several years, before starting to work at Molly’s — for the first time. “I spent four or five years here in the 1990s,” she says, “then I left, and then I came back. That was 20 years ago. I’ve been here ever since. Lots of the staff have been here longer than I have. We don’t get a lot of turnover.”
So, what is it about Molly’s that keeps staff and customers coming back year after year? Sutherland has an answer: “Everybody says this, but we really are like family — employees and customers. If you look at my phone contacts, half of them are regular customers, and they know that if they’re not here when they usually are, one of us is going to be texting them to make sure they’re okay. We try to keep tabs on each other and support each other. And Jessica and Kevin have kept that kind of spirit going.”
Sutherland is speaking about Jessica and Kevin Carnell, the couple who bought Molly’s from Robert Chapman’s widow, Janie Chapman, about three-and-a-half years ago. “They’d been coming in for years,” Sutherland says, “and when my sister sort of jokingly asked them if they wanted to buy the restaurant, they said yes. They’ve kept all the traditional things about this place alive, but Jessica has added some really nice design and decor improvements to the restaurant, like the patio. They’re a perfect fit for Molly’s.”
And Sutherland seems to be a perfect fit behind the tiny U-shaped bar that is the heart of the restaurant. “The bartenders get all the glory,” she says, “but the people in the back are the real stars. Our menu is huge, and they create it all back in that tiny kitchen. It’s like a dance, watching them work around each other.”
“Speaking of menus … how about your drink menu?” I ask.
“We can make any cocktail you want,” Sutherland says, handing me the menu, “but margaritas are obviously our bread and butter. Our margarita mix is proprietary; no one else has it and no one else ever will, because it’s patented. And we purée our own strawberries and mangos.”
There are eight margaritas on the drink menu. “What’s your favorite?” I ask.
“I’d have to go with our ‘Top Shelf Margarita.’ It’s Molly’s mix topped with a shot of Jimador Silver Tequila and Grand Marnier.”
“That sounds really potent.”
“Well, it’s not the kind of margarita you’d want to drink a pitcher of,” she says, setting the lime-colored concoction on the bar in front of me, “but it’s a really good drink.”
And it is — very good and obviously potent. I ask Sutherland for some chips and salsa and a glass of water, and she is quickly on it. “I’ll think I’ll need to take my time and sip this one for a bit,” I say.
“There’s no hurry,” she says. “I’m not going anywhere.”
And neither am I, at least not anytime soon. That seems to be how it goes at Molly’s — once you’re there, you tend to stay awhile.
Molly’s La Casita, 2006 Madison Avenue
