A house RESOLUTION

TO recognize El Matador as South Carolina's first and oldest Mexican restaurant, to express appreciation to the late Dee Stockwell, Brian Stockwell, and David Stockwell for their continuous service to the community of Taylors and the County of Greenville for over fifty-five years and for creating and sustaining an iconic, family business destination restaurant.

Whereas, the South Carolina House of Representatives is deeply appreciative to the Stockwell family, the late Dee Stockwell, Brian Stockwell, and their sons David and Steve Stockwell, for creating and sustaining the El Matador restaurant in Taylors, which has continuously operated as a Mexican restaurant since 1968, making it the oldest known Mexican restaurant in the State of South Carolina; and

Whereas, when the Stockwell family started El Matador, residents were accustomed to southern delicacies and traditional meat-and-three restaurants. Mexican food was unknown and exotic. Few residents had ever heard of a taco, let alone tasted one; however, the locals quickly loved the food, and the El Matador grew into a favorite destination; and

Whereas, Dee and Brian learned about the exciting flavors and unique tastes of authentic Mexican food during their visits to Mexico. Son David continues to travel to Mexico to discover new recipes, techniques, presentations, and atmosphere. The family has always decorated the restaurant with inspiration from Mexican places, giving customers an authentic experience and a vacation-like escape in Greenville County; and

Whereas, while father Brian had started his career with the well-established Daniel Corporation in Greenville, it was Mother Dee Stockwell who was the driving entrepreneur behind El Matador, making her a maverick woman business owner at the time; and

Whereas, the iconic El Matador is a lively attraction that is always crowded with festive local regulars and out-of-town visitors and has been a special part of political legend Senator Lewis Raymond Vaughn's dining circuit for decades. El Matador is where Sheriff Hobart Lewis celebrates election milestones and is a Greenville County political gathering spot for local elected leaders like Councilmen Mike Barnes, Steve Shaw, and Stan Tzouvelekas; and  

Whereas, going back to the days of the old Greenville Memorial Auditorium, headline bands and performers made El Matador "the" place to go after the show, from Fats Domino and racing legend Cotton Owens to the Marshall Tucker Band and current acts like Jared Emerson, Brian Ashley Jones, and Scotty Cannon and potter/historian Steve Ferrell. When Fats Domino visited, he rubbed the pregnant belly of Dee Stockwell and told her, "Dee, I hope your baby has a lot of soul!"; and

Whereas, El Matador is the place where sports luminaries like Coach Danny Ford, PGA golfer Lucas Glover, United States amateur Chris Patton, Atlanta Falcons NFL players, and Greenville Drive and Swamp Rabbits teammates, along with generations of local business leaders, the Strange Brothers, DJ Rama, and the Jain Chemical family, are raving regulars. Surendra and Neeli Jain have celebrated every one of their son Manoj's birthdays there, fifty-three birthdays in a row; and

Whereas, El Matador started in 1968 as a family entrepreneurial enterprise and as an opportunity to share their excitement and discovery of authentic Mexican cuisine with the Taylors area and Greenville County residents. The restaurant has not only survived, but also thrives, as a special destination where families, elected officials, celebrities, and business leaders gather to enjoy one another's company and celebrate milestones. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, recognize El Matador as South Carolina's first and oldest Mexican restaurant, to express appreciation to the late Dee Stockwell, Brian Stockwell, and David Stockwell for their continuous service to the community of Taylors and the County of Greenville for over fifty-five years and for creating and sustaining an iconic, family business destination restaurant.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to the Stockwell family.

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