Such was the case for Kristin Barber, whose sister introduced her to the Nashua restaurant more than 15 years ago.

Barber lost her sister to cancer not too long ago, but now she brings her niece to sit and visit with the servers and bartenders. Barber said these folks have become some of her good friends.

Just a few steps away from the bar, Barber’s sister can be found, along with dozens of other customers, smiling and laughing in a mural on the wall of the restaurant’s function room.

Staff are also represented on the wall, showing faces such as Robin Lizotte, Nancy Cogswell and Cynthia Casey, who together have almost 50 years of experience at La Hacienda.

“Most of us stay so long-term because of how we are treated,” Nitashia Brianas, a server and bartender who has been at the restaurant for eight years, said. “It’s a small staff and a family atmosphere … I love the customers and the relationships we form with them.”

The business has its fair share of regulars, owners Gagan and Nabina Dangol agreed. Some of the kids who were once sitting at the booths in high chairs are now there with their friends, drinking margaritas.

“It’s like the bar from Cheers,” Gagan Dangol said, a sentiment later echoed by Barber.

La Hacienda, meaning a ranch or house by the river, opened in 1980, but the Dangols took the reins in 2005.

In the future, they would like to open a second location. For now, however, their goals remain the same as they have for the last 13 years: good food and good service, while making sure the customers leave happy.

That is not to say nothing has changed in the last decade. They recently debuted a brand new menu, with items such as the Mexican white wings, chicken tenders wrapped in bacon with a slice of jalapeno, deep fried and tossed in hot sauce. That one, Brianas explained, was a special that became so popular they had to add it to the menu. Aside from traditional Mexican fare such as chile relleno, enchiladas and tacos, they have also serve a grilled salmon salad, a cheeseburger burrito and baby back ribs.

It is their house-made margaritas though, Brianas said, made with just lime juice instead of sour mix, that really set them apart.

With a mix of regulars and new faces, there is always something new to learn every single day, Nabina Dangol said.

A lot of restaurants in the area have come and gone, her husband agreed, adding, “We are proud to serve the greater Nashua area.”

La Hacienda is located at 4 Taggart Dr. They are open 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Wednesday; 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday through Saturday; and noon to 8:30 p.m. Sunday. For more information, call 603-888-3353 or visit www.lahanh.com.

Hannah LaClaire can be reached at 594-1243 or hlaclaire@nashuatelegraph.com.