About Us

About La Margarita Co.

La Margarita Co. restaurant was started in 1984 by Pedro Rosales after many years of hard work, school, and planning. His plan was to bring something different to Salem in the form of Mexican food. Pedro decided to use a mesquite wood grill to cook the different meats he used. At the time, there were only 2 or 3 Mexican restaurants in all of Salem. It was slow going at first, as little by little people began to hear about this new restaurant. Consequently, La Margarita began to get busy and the clientele began to grow.

Xochitl and Javier

In 1985, Javier Muñoz joined Pedro in the restaurant, as a dishwasher. Pedro’s daughter, Xochitl, joined him in 1989 (although she worked there on and off while in high school). While working there she met Javier and in 1991 they were married.

The Founders

Since then all 3 have worked there along with all their long time staff. Maria, Lupe, Carolina who have all been there for 20+ years. Carlos, Pedro and Elvia who have been there 13+ years.  Manuel, Veronica, Rubi and Carla 3+ years.  As well as Javier and Xochitl’s 2 sons, Matthew and Nicholas who have worked there since they were 12 years old. This has been a huge key to our success, and without them we might not still be here 33 years later.

Pedro retired in 2012 and sold the business to his daughter and son-in-law, who can be found there most days still serving the delicious food they always have.

The Crew

Each individual provides a key a role in servicing over 100,000 customers each year. We are committed to hiring and retaining only the best people. These crew members, are, in turn, committed to our business and the profession we serve.