Along Highway 11, just before the bridge in Picayune, is a little red building where freshly prepared menu items can be found for lunch and dinner. Outside the newly established business is a small parking lot typically full of cars during the lunch hour.
This new business is called Charro’s Hot Tamales and Diner. Owner and operator Val Meyer is a veteran of the Army National Guard, former pipefitter and welder and has owned and operated two previous food establishments.
He said he gets up each morning before dawn to begin the day’s work at the restaurant. Their hours state the business is open six days a week, Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., but patrons in the know stop by on Sundays to purchase some of his hot tamales when employees are there.
The business employs six people, including Meyer, Ashton Williams, who has years of restaurant experience working at Arnaud’s French 75 and four part-time staff.
Originally from the Ninth Ward in New Orleans, Meyer said he moved to the Picayune area in 2000. While living in the New Orleans area, he used to buy tamales from a man well-known for his recipe. Meyer attempted to get the recipe from the man before his passing, but was unable. Being interested in cooking since he was young child, he put two years of experimentation into discovering the secret of those tamales, until they were perfect. He then sold those tamales out of street carts. He also had a sandwich shop in the New Orleans area for a time.
Meyer knows about hard work. He put eight months into renovating the Picayune building by himself, with some help from family and friends. Part of that renovation included working on the tamale machine for four months, with some help from Roland Klienfeld at Industrial Tool. The machine can pump out 32 dozen tamales in less than 20 minutes, Meyer said. Other people have helped get the business rolling, including Andrew Humberg, who helped Meyer secure a steamer table.
Prior to opening the restaurant, Meyer said he was a cook for the Army National Guard’s 159th Evacuation Hospital division in Louisiana and was a welder and pipe fitter for 50 years.
All of the dishes served at Charro’s are cooked with the best stocks and bases.
“Fast food is not good food, and good food is not fast food,” Meyer said.
In the seven weeks he’s been open, Meyers has noticed the location’s major flaw is the small parking area.
In addition to the fare listed on the menu, which includes burgers, po-boys and of course tamales, Meyers said there are daily lunch specials. One of the most popular is the lasagna on Wednesday.
Charro’s can be found at 1531 U.S. 11 in Picayune or by phone at 769-242-0500. View their menu by visiting the Facebook page.