Restaurant celebrates being Assembly district’s Small Business of the Year
WESTMORLAND — The Original Town Pump is one of Imperial Valley’s more popular restaurants, and recently it received some notoriety in Sacramento as well as it was selected Small Business of the Year for California’s 56th State Assembly District.
Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia, D-Coachella, presented the restaurant’s owners, Gabriel and Juanita Rebollar, the award on the Assembly floor on June 19 and held an award ceremony reception Wednesday at the restaurant.
“This beloved, Imperial Valley treasure — and one of my own personal favorite spots — is well-deserving of statewide acclaim for its multiple decades of business success, growth and tradition of exemplary family-run service,” Garcia said. “I always enjoy this annual occasion to spotlight our local businesses and thank them for their contributions to our state’s robust economy.”
Purchased by Mary and Buddy Brown in the late 1970s, The Original Town Pump, then a small bar, has since grown into the Valley’s premier steakhouse, the Assemblymember’s office said in press release.
The family’s success also includes Brownie’s Diner in Brawley. Both eateries eventually passed down to the Browns’ son and daughter-in-law, Gabriel and Juanita.
Today, The Original Town Pump has expanded to hold up to 175 customers.
“There’s not much of Westmorland, so it feels great to represent the town,” Gabriel said.
Among the many accolades that hang wall to wall inside the restaurant, co-owner Juanita Rebollar said she believed Garcia’s Small Business of the Year resolution is of the most important.
“We really can’t do better than this,” she said. “This is district. This is it.”
Guests at Wednesday’s reception included county and city officials, as well as community members from throughout the Valley.
“The people that know that we’re involved, they’re all, ‘You guys deserve it,’ but we do what we do because we want to, not because we want accolades,” Juanita said. “But it’s nice having people appreciate and know what we’re doing.”
“I think it’s an extreme honor for the entire city,” said Westmorland City Councilman Henry Graham, who provided the opening and closing remarks for the event.
Graham, 68, a lifelong Westmorland resident, recalled how, during his time Brawley Police Department chief, the department would often have to respond to disturbances at the establishment before the Browns took over.
“That all ended, and that’s the nice thing about it,” he said. “Once the Browns took over, this place just settled along and reorganized. They made it more of a diner than a drinking place and everything just perked up.”
Graham also credited the restaurant with providing residents in the city consistent job opportunities.
“They won’t be the largest now that Love’s has come in,” the councilman said “But as far as employees, for them to get this type of recognition is well deserved.”
In Garcia’s press release, the Rebollars were also praised as they’ve “strived to hire local and give back to the community.”
The owners proudly consider themselves as part of the staff of 15.
Juanita Rebollar estimated at least half of the staff lives in Westmorland.
“A lot of our employees that live here don’t have cars, they just walk over here or sometimes we drive them home,” she said. “Or if they need a ride since it’s too hot, then we’ll pick them up and we’ll all come.”
Wednesday’s honorees, true to form, cooked part of the event’s dinner, and they didn’t eat until every guest was served.
“Our main cook is sick, so a lot of this work, he and I had to do it,” Juanita said.
Garcia also credited the Rebollars for being “incredibly engaged and frequently donating to, and offering to host local organizations as well as school clubs and teams.”
Although it provides support to a number of programs at local schools — including Brawley Union, Southwest and Calexico high schools — Juanita said The Original Town Pump takes most pride in helping Westmorland Elementary School’s MESA team.
“They live here, but they probably will never be able to come in here,” Juanita said. “That’s what we do, that’s what we feel good about — treating kids that will maybe never get the opportunity, or have never had the opportunity, to come in and have a nice dinner.”