Locales Only
Two First-Gen Mamas Are Restaurant Prodigies: Angela & Mariam El Haj
February 20, 2025 · 28 min
Why listen
Two sisters turned their family's immigrant journey into a thriving Anaheim restaurant, and they tell the whole story here.
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In this episode
- How a Palestinian family's path through Spain shaped a restaurant legacy
- What it actually takes to run a cantina in the shadow of Disneyland
- The real challenges of growing up inside the restaurant business
- Why first-generation Americans often build something no one else can
About this episode
After a brief hiatus, Locales Only is back! This week we are going for a drive with Angela & Mariam El Haj — sisters who went from being first-generation American immigrants to owning Anaheim’s Calaca Mamas Cantina. You’ll get to hear directly from the pair how they have been raised in the restaurant scene, how their parents made the difficult journey from Palestine to Spain to the United States, and how it’s not as easy as it looks to compete with Disneyland! So buckle up and let’s hit the road with Locales Only.Big thanks to Fletcher-Jones Motorcar of Newport Beach for sponsoring the show and building out the all-electric Mercedes-Benz EQE as our rolling podcast studio!
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About Locales Only
There’s so much that makes Southern California one of the best places in the world. That’s why, for almost a decade, the founder of Locale magazine, Erik Hale, has been showcasing the people, places, restaurants, and events that give SoCal its reputation.
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