The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG - There's something new cooking at Ye Town Hall these days - tamales! Anita Hernandez of Granny's Hot Tamales is utilizing the commercial kitchen at Town Hall as home base for her new ta- male business.

No stranger to the food business, Anita, who is origi- nally from the Grandview/ Prosser area and her hus- band, a Walla Walla native, have spent the last sev- eral years in Corpus Christi, Texas. There they helped Anita's mother, the "Gran- ny" behind Granny's Hot Tamales, manage several family restaurants. Family members started out with one tamale shop that quickly expanded to five. They also sold tamales in vans "all up and down the beach." In ad- dition, Hernandez operated her own restaurant, called Anita's Mexican Restaurant.

This is not the first time Hernandez has sold tamales in the Walla Walla area ei- ther, though it is the first time she's used the secret "Gran- ny's" recipes. Years ago, Hernandez was employed in the kitchen of the Christian Aid Center in Walla Walla, and eventually worked her way up to director of the Women's Shelter. As direc- tor, she helped develop a ta- male shop, which served as a job-placement opportunity for the shelter. That shop, Fresh Fire Tamales, was lo- cated just behind Starbuck's in downtown Walla Walla.

After spending several years in Texas, Hernandez and her husband began to miss the cooler climates of Walla Walla. They were hearing about the many new wineries in the area, as well. "We sell a lot of cheese tamales and wine goes great with cheese," said Hernan- dez. "Our sauce is not just a glob of cream cheese like some places. It's a special sauce that's sautéed up and requires several steps to make."

Granny's top seller is the "traditional Granny's" spin- ach cream cheese tamale. She also offers: pork, beef, chicken, bean, jalapeno cream cheese and sweet corn tamales. "The sweet corn tamales are considered very fancy, like a delicacy in Cor- pus," said Hernandez. "The restaurants drizzle them with honey or cream cheese and serve them as a dessert." Hernandez also sells the popular Pan de Polvo cook- ies, a traditional Mexican cookie served at Christmas and at weddings.

Hernandez initially contacted the Port of Walla Walla when searching for a commercial kitchen to house her operation. Port Execu- tive Director Jim Kuntz is a member of the Waitsburg Commercial Club and let her know of the opportunity in Waitsburg. "We're glad to have her," said Commercial Club president, Joy Smith. "We're not looking to make money. We just want to pay the bills and bring new busi- nesses to the area and help them get a leg up."

Hernandez intends to spend Mondays and Tues- days preparing her tamales in Waitsburg. She will then freeze them for delivery throughout the week. She plans to develop delivery routes between Waitsburg and Walla Walla, where she will deliver door-to-door with 24 hours notice. Granny's Hot Tamales will attend Farmer's Market events and is available for catering as well.

"I'm so grateful to have this opportunity. I couldn't afford to get all set up my- self," said Hernandez. "It's still expensive to get a food license and insurance and meet all the requirements, but I want people to be able to feel good about what they're buying."

Hernandez can be contacted at 1-818-239-6911 with orders or questions.