La Playa Maya founder Guadalupe “Lupe” Ayala never wanted to be the face of his family-owned restaurants, but he wanted customers to feel at home, his children said.
He created a business that provided adequate space for families of all sizes to come together.
“Consistency was very important to him not just in the food but in the way the restaurants served the community — from the north side to west Fort Worth,” his daughter Sarah said.
Lupe Ayala died Aug. 23 following a battle with cancer. He was 64.
Ayala was known for his Mexican restaurant at 1540 N. Main St. in Northside, a business that expanded to include other locations across Fort Worth and in Hudson Oaks.
His family — wife Letty Ayala and children Natalie Ayala Hall, Amanda Sanchez, Sarah Ayala and David Ayala — will continue running the restaurants.
“He came to the United States with nothing, but he didn’t stay that way,” his daughter Natalie said via email. “He didn’t accept his circumstances. On the contrary, it fueled a fire in him, and he set out with an intense focus on building a better life for himself, for my mother and for his future children.”
Chasing his American dream
Lupe Ayala was born in 1961, the youngest of four brothers in Pesquería, Nuevo León, Mexico, near Monterrey. He immigrated to Dallas at 13, arriving at the Greyhound bus station downtown with $5 in his pocket. The Ayala brothers worked to provide for their mother and make a life for themselves in North Texas.
While attending what was then Alex W. Spence Junior High, he met his wife Leticia “Letty” Pinto. The two married at 19 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
By the early 1980s, Ayala was helping to manage Moctezuma’s. Determined to launch his own restaurant, he turned to where the West begins: opening La Playa Maya near the Fort Worth Stockyards in 1988.
Lupe Ayala, center, poses behind a table of a family gathered to celebrate at La Playa Maya in April 1992. (Courtesy photo | The Ayala Family)
His family remembers the restaurants serving as the backdrop of so many community celebrations: birthdays, bridal showers and baby showers.
“In many ways, the restaurants became a second home where our friends, family and even longtime employees gathered to celebrate life’s milestones with us,” Sarah Ayala said.
Ayala always looked to give back to the Fort Worth communities that embraced him, offering first responders 50% off meals and donating gifts across the city. He often advised many restaurateurs who wanted to open their own businesses, his family said.
“He knew his path was not forged alone, and he wanted to be a reliable mentor to others,” his son David Ayala said. “He also understood that teaching others always exposes any lack of understanding you may have, and it helped keep him sharp on the business as a whole.”
Driven by faith
Lupe Ayala, far right, poses with his team at La Playa Maya restaurant in Fort Worth. (Courtesy photo | The Ayala Family)
Beyond his professional career, Ayala was deeply driven by his Catholic faith. He sent his four children to Holy Family Catholic School and then Nolan Catholic High School in Fort Worth.
Ayala and his wife were awarded Nolan Catholic High School’s Esto Dux Award in 2013 for their legacy of outstanding support of Catholic education. Esto Dux, the school’s motto, means “Be a Leader.”
“He believed that because he had been so blessed in this life, it was our responsibility to be good stewards of the gifts God had given us,” Sarah said. “His approach to faith was very much about leading by example — showing us through his actions how to live with gratitude, integrity and service to others.”
A rosary and visitation service is planned for 6-8 p.m. Sept. 3 at Greenwood Funeral Home at 3100 White Settlement Road.
The funeral mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. Sept. 4 at Holy Family Catholic Church at 6150 Pershing Ave., followed by burial at Oakwood Cemetery at 701 Grand Ave.
David Moreno is the arts and culture reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or @davidmreports.
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