In the spring of 1985, eight recently unemployed workers dreamt of a worker-owned cooperative that would bring nouveau-Mexican food to Athens. Today, Casa Nueva, 6 W. State St., has transformed into a community staple.
Tomorrow, Casa Nueva will celebrate its 26th anniversary with food, speeches, awards, activities and entertainment. The doors open at 4 p.m., and the evening will include a buffet and different drink specials.
Children’s activities, including face painting, will start at 5 p.m. Worker and owner Sherry Harvey said that every year Casa tries to pull someone from the art community to participate in the children’s activities.
Speeches and awards will follow the children’s activities. Harvey said that every year one customer is given the “eater-owner award,” which was recently changed to the Wilmont Chandler memorial award after the first recipient passed away.
“An eater-owner is someone who is a regular here, and they eat so much that they are called an eater-owner as opposed to a worker-owner,” Harvey said. “They eat so much, they’re paying for our paychecks.”
The celebration will conclude with evening entertainment at 9 p.m.
The theme for this year’s celebrations is “Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, Together.” It encompasses Casa Nueva’s gratitude toward its symbiotic involvement with the Athens community.
Harvey said the support provided by the Athens community and other local businesses is the reason for Casa’s continued existence.
“The longevity of our community support and the growth of our business is because of Athens,” Harvey said. “We couldn’t have expanded in 2002 if it wasn’t for all of the support.”
Various local restaurants will support Casa by providing catering for the buffet. Harvey said that Casa provided its own food in the past, but the party has expanded so much over the past few years that they have sought outside help.
“We are supported so much by other community businesses, so we want to be able to return that,” he said.
Casa will be closed Wednesday afternoon to prepare for the anniversary party, but will open to the public for the event. The restaurant will reopen for normal business hours Friday at 8 a.m.
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