TULSA, Okla. — Cancun restaurant has been a staple in the local Mexican food industry for more than 30 years. That might change at the end of June. Long-time owner Clelia Martinez tells 2 News she plans on closing the place she's operated since 1996 at the end of June.
"The products are too expensive," Martinez said. "Every week they raise the prices, and it's hard for me to handle. I've got too much stress and worry about everything."
Martinez told us the cost of most meats has nearly tripled, and business hasn't kept up with those increases.
"I'm going to miss all my customers," Martinez said. "I've had some of these customers for so many years. When I think I'm not going to see them anymore, it's bad."
Those same customers, hoping that closing isn't the final outcome. A Facebook post from a long-time visitor to Cancun has since gone viral. Customers like David Babcock have eaten at the restaurant at 7th and Lewis for decades.
"We can't lose this. It's a Tulsa institution as far as Mexican restaurants go," Babcock said. "And it's sad to see there's not the business. Not the support."
Martinez says she bases the success of her business off the lunchtime crowd. Since those Facebook posts, the traffic for lunch has increased significantly.
"The guys who were at the table, we were just talking about it. When I pulled up, I was like man it's packed," Babcock said. "And it's because somebody said something."
Martinez hopes the uptick in business can keep her doors open.
"Well if I get the business I can handle, I'll keep going because I need to work, Martinez said. "It doesn't matter what kind of work I have to do, because I'll do it."
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