Nacho Mama’s, a popular downtown Mexican-style eatery, celebrated its 25th year in business on Jan. 25.
Barry Blackston, the owner and founder of Nacho Mama’s, started the business when he was 26 years old.
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At the time, he was in graduate school, but he was dissatisfied with his studies and decided that he wanted to do “something else.”
“I love cooking, and I liked Mexican food and old buildings,” Blackston said. “So, all of that came together on Broad Street.”
Back in 1996, downtown Augusta was a different place. Rent was cheap, and very little happened downtown.Back then, the stoplights for the downtown area were shut off at 6 p.m. because of how little business went on in the nighttime.
Blackston lived at the corner of 10th Street and Broad while building up the restaurant three doors down.
“I wanted to do something downtown,” Blackston said. “There was nothing down there. The Soul Bar was opening at the same time we were…They opened a few months before us. They were able to get started quicker, but besides that, there was nothing down there. There were a couple of old lunchtime restaurants (during the day), but there was nothing around there at night. We’ve seen it change dramatically. Pre-pandemic you couldn’t find a parking space.”
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Blackston added, “Back then, there was a different business cycle than we have now. “Summers were incredibly slow. There wasn’t a whole lot going on downtown back then, but we really liked the environment down there with the old buildings and the architecture, so we decided to give it a go.”
Blackston had no real experience running restaurants outside of working as a waiter. However, he said his experience waiting tables for a few years after he had graduated college gave him some of the valuable experience he needed.
“Waiting tables at two fine dining restaurants in Augusta allowed me to see how a kitchen operated (and) how the front of the house operated,” Blackston said. “I was just able to kinda look at it and think if they could do it I could do it. It gave me the confidence to try. Of course, I was young and didn’t know any better. I didn’t have a family or anything, and I didn’t need much money to live. I could do it without risking a whole lot.”
Of course, the beginning was not easy. Blackston, his then-partner Matt Flynn, and his employees had to learn many lessons the hard way.
In addition, Blackston had problems with slow business, especially in the summer, and debt. Nevertheless, he and Nacho Mama’s persevered.
“It was a situation of whether you go out of business or you’re confident and you keep going and borrow a little more to get you through that bad period,” Blackston said. “You keep going, and we never really looked back after that.”
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At the time, the overhead costs of running the business were not that expensive, so he could weather the lean times.
Further, Blackston said, the customers were very forgiving.
The loyal customers and the perseverance kept Nacho Mama’s going until Blackston learned how to operate the establishment as a business and a restaurant.
“People were so happy to see us down there that they forgave us when things weren’t right and gave us another chance,” Blackston said. “The further along we went, the more we were able to get it right and gain some consistency until we knew what we were doing. Now, we have a very consistent restaurant, a great product and great people (employees) who do a wonderful job.”
Over time, the loyal customers have kept the restaurant going. Most of Nacho Mama’s customers are currently regulars who eat there at least once a week.
“That’s the key to really having success in a restaurant as far as I’m concerned,” Blackston said. “Learning who your customers are and make them happy.”
Running Nacho Mama’s has been more difficult because of the pandemic. The restaurant was shut down from St. Patrick’s Day 2020 through April of 2020 and for about three-quarters of July, causing Blackston and his employees to lose business in their busiest months and struggle financially to support their families.
“It couldn’t have hit at a worse time,” Blackston said.
Due to the shutdown, Blackston said he used all his savings to supporting himself and his family and to paying insurance, rent, and sales tax on the restaurant.
However, once Nacho Mama’s reopened, his loyal customers returned to offer their support.
“As soon as we reopened, the customers came back and supported us incredibly,” Blackston said.
Still, his business is only earning 75 percent of what it should be, barely enough to stay afloat and break even, yet hrough it all, Blackston has held on to the optimism and the perseverance that has kept Nacho Mama’s alive for the past 25 years.
“There’s been obviously some change in the last year because of the virus,” Blackston said. “But all that will change. We’re down. We’re doing less business than we should be now, but everybody is. When the vaccine kicks in and business resumes, downtown will be busier than ever.”
Casey Williams is a correspondent for The Augusta Press. Reach her at producers@theaugustapress.com
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