La Estrellita restaurants began in 1953 in the small town of Ft. Lupton, Colorado, 26 miles north of Denver. Those were the good times, when you could buy a pop for 10 cents, music was 5 cents and a combination plate was $1.25. The first location was owned by Grandma Stella and Grandpa Sal Montoya. They closed the restaurant in 1967.

In October 1986, their son John R. Montoya along with his sons, John Jr. and Ken Montoya again started the great tradition of La Estrellita's great Mexican food, serving the finest Mexican food this side of Heaven.

In 1993, Steve came on board, followed by Gina in 1997. Together, they run La Estrellita in Brighton, CO.

In 1995, because of the enormous demand from our customers, we started bottling our salsas.