Ozzie & Mae Chicas stand in their downtown Williamsport restaurant “Ozzie & Mae’s” and are now celebrating their 20th anniversary in business. The couple will be celebrating the anniversary of the restaurant on Tuesday Jan. 20th from 3:30-5pm with complimentary appetizers during the ribbon cutting event. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

A mainstay of the downtown Williamsport dining scene celebrated a major milestone this week as Ozzie and Mae’s, 36 W. Fourth St., held a 20th anniversary ribbon cutting ceremony Tuesday.

“I feel overwhelmed sometimes saying it,” Mae Thalijh, who owns and operates the restaurant with husband, Ozzie, said.

The couple had each worked in the restaurant industry prior to launching their own eatery.

“He started working as a dishwasher when he was 16, and worked his way up, so he had over 20 years experience cooking and running kitchens,” Mae said.

Mae was no amateur herself, having previously worked as a bartender and server before becoming a service manager for a corporate Mexican chain restaurant.

“I always say it was God,” Mae said of how the pair came to end up in the Williamsport area.

Living in Selinsgrove at the time, Ozzie and Mae’s realtor suggested purchasing property in Williamsport as it was considered an up and coming area.

“It was at the time they were doing the Market Street Bridge, and I thought it was a really cute downtown area,” she said.

After having lunch at Vinny’s Italian Eatery, the couple would spot a “for rent” sign in a space on the first floor of the Center City Building, also known as the Lucasi Building. That space would become their first location.

“We thought, ‘why don’t we give it a try? We’ve been cooking for, and serving other people for so many years. We’ll give it a try for a year. We have nothing to lose.’ It wasn’t expensive, and it was small,” she said.

The Ozzie and Mae’s of 1996 was very different from what they’re known for today.

“Back then, most places were open for breakfast and lunch, and closed by five. So we did a little bit of breakfast and lunch, and we started off selling a little bit of everything,” Mae said.

But knowing that they could create tasty Mexican and Spanish food, the couple began pairing regular orders with a free taco, prompting many customers to return, asking to order the tacos themselves.

“It was all word of mouth, just a lot of people giving us a try,” Mae said.

“There was nothing downtown like that. Everybody was doing soups, salads and sandwiches and so we started with what everybody was used to, and then tried to branch out with our own thing,” she explained.

The switchover was gradual with the couple adding more Mexican options to the menu over the next year. By their fifth year in operation, they acquired a liquor licence, at which point, they fully embraced Mexican food.

For the husband and wife duo, a big highlight of being open for 20 years has been their returning customers who have been along for the ride.

“We’re constantly adding to the menu, but also being consistent. I love when I hear people say, ‘I was here 10 years ago and I’ve been getting the same thing.’ I have people that literally have been ordering one dish for 10 years. “We’ve always made it the same, and that’s what people like,” Mae said.

“Honestly, if it wasn’t for the people. I don’t think I could have done this for the last 20 years,” she said, adding that many of their customers have watched her children grow as she watched theirs do the same.

“A lot of people still say, ‘I remember when your daughter was in the playpen behind your register when you first opened,” Mae said.

“We didn’t know one single person here when we opened. So for us, it’s been meeting so many amazing people,” she added.

The couple are also thankful for the spirit of comradery that continues to exist among local business owners, who would all collaborate on events such as Mardi Gras and Cinco de Mayo.

“There would be a crawl for St. Patty’s Day, and even though we were a Mexican restaurant, we’d be so busy. It was just part of the downtown community, with restaurant owners from Franco’s and Bullfrog,” Mae said.

“I just remember meeting everybody, and they were all so kind, and just really helped us navigate everything. Still to this day, I would have no problem calling another restaurant owner to ask questions or, you know, we all just really do get along so well. It is a community. It’s a family,

Despite being in the restaurant business, Mae said they never felt like they were in competition with their neighbors.

“It never felt cutthroat. Taco Loco opened down the street, and I wish them all the best, because we have different ways of making things, and people can love both. We all have our own flavor profile. There’s enough room for everybody,” she said.

Several of Ozzie and Mae’s first offerings became mainstays, including their flautas, chimichangas, fajitas, enchiladas and tacos.

“Those are the first core things we started with. Everything else branched off of that, and they are still among our most popular items.

“On our menu, we’ve always said that Ozzie cooks with a pinch of love,” Mae said

The anniversary really hit home for the couple when recently creating an Instagram video to celebrate the occasion.

“It has been our life. When we first started, my daughter was one. She’s 21 now, and in that video, I got to see her grow up. I got to see how we’ve expanded,” Mae said.

“It was a lot of hard work and a lot of dedication. It is true when they say the days are long, but the years are short. The days felt so long when we first started, especially because you’re always trying to do more and work more hours, and now that we’ve gotten a little older, we’ve definitely cut our hours back, but we’re still always trying to do our very best every day Ozzie and I go in. We don’t miss a shift, so we’re always there,” Mae said.

“This has been our life, our journey. If this was my deathbed moment, all of my flashbacks would include the restaurant,” she said.

While acknowledging their own hard work throughout the years, Mae said their staff have been an integral part of their success.

“They are truly our work family and we’ve had amazing staff over the years,” she said.

Most of all, she said it has been the community that has kept them thriving all these years.

“Thank you for being part of our story, part of our lives and accepting us in this town,” she said.

“We were some of the first business people to live downtown, and we now have our own apartments downtown that we lease out. We’ve grown so much over the years. Thank you for helping us to do all of this,” Mae said.