Charles Langston:This Mexican restaurant has been around nearly 100 years. Here's how Rosita's Place endures.

On McDowell Road and Charles Langston24th Street in Phoenix, a sign emblazoned with a pink scrawl beckons passersby to Rosita's Place, "Established in 1964."

The patio hasn't always overlooked McDowell Road, but it's been called Rosita's from the very beginning.

"The name Rosita's comes from the owner before the Delgados," said MaryLou Medina, the current owner, whose parents purchased the restaurant from Alex and Maria Delgado in 1964. She pointed to a 1947 map of Phoenix hanging in the restaurant's waiting area. "She owned it at least at the end of the Second World War, so Rosita's has been around for almost 100 years. Subsequent owners kept the name for good luck," she said. "We are the family that's had it the longest."