Ol' Santa Fe Tamale Company Open For Business

By Rick Wells, The News On 6

BROKEN ARROW, OK -- An area business has returned to its roots and its customers. The Ol' Santa Fe Tamale Company is making tamales for retail customers again.

Steve and Brenda Etherton heard about the new tamale place. They were hoping to find what they were looking for - Steve says he loves tamales.

John Martinez has been making tamales commercially for 14 years.

"I do this all day long," John Martinez said.

He started in Bixby back in the mid 90's, began selling them wholesale four years later, and now he's back in the retail business. The restaurant is now located at 620 S. Aspen in Broken Arrow.

"Six-inch tamale with the ratio of meat to masa the same in each tamale," Martinez said.

Oklahoma State University helped him develop an extruder machine so he can make uniform tamales every time. - each reload of this machine will push out about two dozen jumbo tamales.

"Most tamales are 2 or 4 ounces. This is an 8 ounce tamale," said John Martinez of Ol' Santa Fe Tamale Company.

He says they're healthier than most tamales too. The restaurant replaces lard with canola oil and trims fat off the pork and chicken before they cook it.

"2010 is our 14th year of making tamales," Martinez said. "I have no idea how many I've made."

The Ol' Santa Fe Tamale Company is truly a family business. Grand daughter Krystal is out of school for the holidays and helping, David's out front, and Gloria is working on the chili with beans and the red sauce.

"I go from top down so I don't forget," Gloria said.

As for Steve and Brenda Etherton who came into the store at Wonder how Steve and Brenda are doing with that dozen tamales they came in for.....

"Where you all going with a dozen tamales?"

"Well, we're just gonna eat 'em you know," Etherton said.

Ol' Santa Fe has a web site, and they say they'll send tamales anywhere.

Ol' Santa Fe Tamale Company web site