College student’s video supporting her grandmother’s Silver Spring restaurant goes viral

Meezy Esse’s friends showed her an Instagram video that tugged at her heart and inspired her to skip McDonald’s and head to a family-owned Silver Spring restaurant for lunch.

The young woman in the video pleads for more customers for La Posada, which serves Salvadoran and Mexican food.

“I have 60 days to help save my grandma’s restaurant before I go back to college,” she said in the video. “Not too long ago, this restaurant was packed. People would come from all over for her pupusas, tacos and homemade food. But over time business has slowed down.”

That was enough to send Esse to La Posada for lunch Wednesday. The granddaughter had promised the menu was not the reason people weren’t showing up. Esse said she’s right about that.

“The food is fire,” said Esse, 32, of Silver Spring, digging into cheese and chicharrón pupusas, carne asada and an horchata.

But she was the only customer there.

La Posada, at 8545 Piney Branch Road, is in a strip mall tucked among a grocery store, a tax preparer and a pizza shop. It’s been in business for 20 years, according to the granddaughter, who does not give her name in the video.

It’s too bad so many people are missing out on La Posada, said Esse, who promised to return. “I decided to help a local business.”

The granddaughter said her grandma didn’t ask her to make the video but it’s the least she can do for the single mother of three and grandmother of five.

“My goal is simple: Get my grandma’s restaurant busy again. … After everything she’s done for our family, I really wanted to do something special for her.”

No family members were available for comment by the time of publication.

Many commenters on the Instagram post, which at publication time had 3,800 likes, vowed to give La Posada a chance.

“Thank you for letting me know where good food hosted by positive folks like you and your family exists,” one wrote.