East Arlington Favorite, Mariano’s Restaurant, Highlighted at City Hall
By Office of Communication
Posted on February 25, 2020, February 25, 2020

Thank you to Mariano’s Restaurant for sponsoring Customer Appreciation Week at City Hall this month.

Thank you to Mariano’s Restaurant for sponsoring Customer Appreciation Week at City Hall this month.

Small business owners make The American Dream City a vibrant, exciting place to dine, shop, work and play.

The City is working to help highlight local businesses in East Arlington through a Small Business Assistance initiative, now in its second year. The City’s Planning and Development Services Department is seeking to partner with East Arlington businesses to help bring awareness to the goods and services they offer through a “Customer Appreciation Week” event each month this year. Sponsorship opportunities are available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

The City will highlight the business sponsor with the following:

• Display company name, address, and a message from that business on the information screen at the One Start Development Center, located on the second floor of City Hall.

• A promotion table displaying their brochures/menus/flyers.

• Acknowledgement on City’s Small Business Assistance webpage.

Mariano’s Restaurant, located at 2614 Majesty Dr., is open seven days a week. This popular restaurant features Tex-Mex favorites and is famously known as the inventor of the frozen margarita. Those who have visited the restaurant have no doubt seen the "World's First Frozen Margarita" plaque and other information about the restaurant's frozen margarita machine, which was retired to the Smithsonian.  

“We are very proud to have the honor of serving the Arlington community for over 40 years now, and we plan on continuing and expanding our reach in the community for many more years to come,” said General Manager Jorge Valle.

Mariano Martinez, who also owns and operates La Hacienda Ranch, opened his first restaurant in Old Town in Dallas in 1971. Here's a little more history about Mariano's claim to fame as the inventor of the frozen margarita: 

“Marianos” was a huge hit in the Dallas nightlife scene and the store was extremely busy every day of the week. As customers gathered there to try the new sensation that was sweeping over Texas, the Frozen Margarita. But there was a problem with the current method of making frozen margaritas. Each one had to be individually made in a blender, and with the large influx of orders for frozen margaritas flooding in, the bartenders would quickly become overwhelmed. One evening the frustrated bartenders threatened to quit if Mariano did not come up with an idea on how to help them get the orders out faster.

Early one morning a few days later while Mariano was grabbing his daily coffee at 7-11, he was watching the Slurpee machine rotate around, and an idea popped into his head that would forever change how we enjoy the margarita. Mariano looked around and ended up purchasing an ice cream machine, and after a lot of hard work and many trials and errors. On May 11th, 1971, Mariano ended up with a machine that could quickly and consistently produce frozen margaritas on a massive scale. This invention took Marianos from a popular restaurant to a must visit destination for anyone in Dallas. Famous athletes, musicians, and even movie/tv stars have all come and enjoyed a frozen margarita at Marianos!"

Mariano’s Restaurant, located at 2614 Majesty Dr., is open seven days a week. This popular restaurant features Tex-Mex favorites and is famously known as the inventor of the frozen margarita. It’s first frozen margarita machine, which starting churning out frozen drinks in 1971, was donated to the Smithsonian Museum.

To be considered as a future Customer Service Week sponsor, please send an email to[email protected] detailing the nature of your business and any questions you may have. The City will send you a reply email with sponsorship details, including which month your business will be featured.

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