South of the border Sunfire also rises down east
Story and photos by William Lannon

Pam Cota of Rockland’s Sunfire Mexican Grill can tell if you’re from Texas or Southern California when you order your food. Texans always order ground beef and chili verde (green sauce), she reports. Southern Californians, on the other hand, prefer shredded beef. Folks from New Mexico practically always ask for “Christmas”—equal portions of red and green sauce. And the Rockland customers? “Burritos,” declare both Pam and her husband Allan, “Because of their size and value.”

The couple opened Sunfire Mexican Grill as a takeout trailer operation in April of 2003. They shared a parking lot with U.S. Cellular overlooking Rockland Harbor on upper Main Street. The cuisine was classic Mexican fare, Sonora style, and included quesadillas, tacos, enchiladas, nachos, and burritos. They also offered (and still do) enchiladas rancheros and a chipotle shrimp tostada, as well as a taco salad.

Sunfire’s success was practically instantaneous. The Cotas had planned to remain open into the fall depending on how busy they were and February found then still serving up orders of tortilla chips with side orders of Mexican rice, refried beans, guacamole, and salsa as well as the rest of the menu. Allan Cota did admit that the floor of the distinctive green trailer got a little chilly as the wind off the harbor whistled under it, freezing the pipes now and then as well as the feet.

Now however, Sunfire has moved to more permanent quarters at 488B Main Street, just north of the corner of Lindsey Street. The Cotas discovered there was a possibility that the lot on which the trailer sat might not be available. In any case, the Grill was becoming increasing popular. Customers willing to wait outside practically at the water’s edge in a Rockland January while their food was being prepared is loyal indeed.

Although they weren’t thrilled with the idea of moving, the prospect of perhaps having to find a new site to park the trailer each season convinced the Cotas that a home without wheels might have its positive points. The new Grill seats 32 in comfortable fashion. Pam designed and executed the interior. She retained the trailer’s distinctive green as the trim color in the light and attractive decor. She created a faux finish sandy beige for the walls and hung a tastefully limited collection of Mexican artifacts, pottery and sculpture to complete the understated space. The logo is centrally and prominently displayed. Look closely at it and you will note that the sun’s red rays are actually chili peppers. They do provide background music, but it is also understated and ethnic.

Allan Cota acts as headwaiter, order taker, cashier, the waiter, busboy, and general factotum aided by the couple’s twenty-two year old son Nick. Pam does all the cooking. They’ve just hired a waitress. Business is booming and while they are not interested in substantially expanding they are finding more help is essential to keep up with the growing number of customers. In addition, the Grill has recently added beer to the menu and though the full line of offerings is still being worked out, one can now get a Corona with lemon or lime in the traditional fashion.

Even though they see distinct advantages in being able to provide sit-down dining, the reason that the Cotas were less than ecstatic about leaving the trailer, despite its cramped quarters, had to do with the efficiency of the work space they had designed. The preparation of the dishes had a logical spatial flow. They also preferred their ability to cook with gas rather than electricity. Pam laments the loss of counter space in the new location because it limits the number of items on the menu.

The Cotas know how to prepare traditional Mexican food because they have lived with it all their lives. Though her family comes from central Maine originally, Pam was born in Southern California where she met Allan. His roots are Mexican and he is a third generation American whose grandmother immigrated years ago. He recalls that she always had some traditional meal simmering away on the stove in Los Angeles where he grew up.

After their son was born they moved to Maine. Pam worked in her family’s Mexican restaurant in Auburn for seven years before it closed. She observes that Mexican restaurants don’t often have an easy time in a French milieu. Allan continued to drive trucks. For many years he drove for Poland Springs, noted purveyors of water.

After fourteen years the couple headed back to California for a while, but ultimately returned to Maine and the birth of Sunfire. They did so with the knowledge that jobs were scarce at the time and that they would probably have to create their own opportunity. In true entrepreneurial fashion they have started with an idea and worked extremely hard keeping everything in the family—even to the interior decorating.

The Cotas have worked at their enterprise with a necessary single-mindedness. In fact, Pam says, “There’s more work than we ever could have imagined.” Neither Allan nor Pam feels comfortable with the idea of taking a vacation and leaving someone else in charge. Some might see this as a reluctance to delegate authority. Perhaps it is, but Pam takes her cooking seriously and knows that, in effect, her name is on the product regardless of whether or not she has prepared it. For the past year, she has also done all the “prep” (readying the ingredients for the various dishes) by herself.

The Sunday and Monday each week that the restaurant is closed don’t really represent time off for the couple. Much of that time is spent procuring supplies for the Grill, cleaning, and keeping up with the paperwork. As Pam says, “Most of the time we’re here working.” It’s understandable that creating a larger or more ambitious operation might not be the ultimate desire of this couple in their forties.

Still, they are quietly proud of what they have accomplished in a little over a year. They’ve established a solid customer base which continues to grow. Furthermore they’ve managed to be popular in two different locations and two different sorts of space. In that time they did have a month when they weren’t serving food, but they were preparing the new location. So, it’s been a year of extremely productive labor. And they have rapidly established their own niche in the local food chain even though new restaurants are chancy enterprises. The Cotas’ edge would seem to be the right idea at the right time and the will and stamina to stay the course.

Above all, they have kept the essential strategy simple. As Pam says, their goal is to provide food which is “authentic and fresh.” People are eating it up, as it were.

FYI: Sunfire Mexican Grill, 488B Main St., Rockland, ME 04841. Telephone: 207.594.6196. Tuesday and Wednesday: 11-3 p.m. Thursday through Saturday: 11-8 p.m.