What does it take to open a successful restaurant in Brighton and Hove? On the eve of the launch of their second restaurant in the city, Nick Mosley, managing director of Brighton and Hove Food Festival, quizzes business partners Aoife Sweeney and Annie Gelpey of La Choza Mexican restaurant.

It feels like La Choza has been part of the Brighton food scene for ever though you only launched four years ago. Why and when did you have the idea to open a Mexican restaurant?

Annie (AG): Aofie’s brother had the original idea of a Mexican restaurant in Brighton. There really weren’t any good ones in the city. Aoife asked me if I’d like to join her in the venture.

Aoife (AS): We’d both spent a lot of time in Mexico and adored the food. Mexican street food was making waves on the UK food scene at the time and we saw a gap in the market.

What were your initial challenges, in a location that is a little tucked away?

AG: There were many challenges. We had to find premises and decide on the name, logo and venue aesthetic – and that was before we even started developing the food. We made many mistakes but hopefully learned with every mistake. Also at the time we were both single mothers with ten-year-old girls so trying to balance that was often hard.

One of the biggest decisions of any new business is deciding on a suitable name. How long did it take to agree?

AG: I think we first wanted to call it Cantina, but found out that there was a Mexican restaurant in North Laine with the same name that had just closed down. Probably not a good idea.

AS: In the end my stepfather Reggie came up with La Choza (The Shack). Among other contenders, we were nearly the Mexican Joint.

Employing and keeping chefs and kitchen staff is a real challenge. How do you retain your team?

AS: We have a good family vibe in La Choza and I think that helps.

AG: We try to make sure our chefs aren’t overworked and are paid well. A lot of restaurants overwork their chefs but it is important to us that everyone is treated with respect – no shouting – and everyone has a good work/life ratio.

AS: And we have wild staff parties.

Even with an international food theme, do you source some local produce and is that important to you?

AS: Absolutely, using local produce is very important to us, although our Mexican essentials such as chillies are obviously imported.

AG: All our seafood comes from BNFS in Portslade and we use local meat and vegetable suppliers. We like to use seasonal produce whenever possible.

With a lot of competition how do you remain current and relevant?

AS: There’s been an explosion of Mexican restaurants in Brighton in the last few years but I think La Choza is strong enough to hold its own. Its important to be a little fluid, not be afraid of change. We keep evolving.

AG: We obviously keep a keen eye on what is happening in the market. Right now, Mescal is very on trend and tacos are becoming more prevalent than burritos so our offering reflects that shift. We also try and go to Mexico every year to expand our knowledge. We recently took our head chef Benji with us so he could expand his knowledge and palate.

You’ve been friends a long time. Has running a business together made that relationship stronger?

AG: Being partner in a business is like being in a marriage. You have to be committed to each other as well as understanding that sometimes you’ll have differences of opinion. It all boils down to communication. We still have fun together outside work.

l La Choza is at 36 Gloucester Road, Brighton. The second La Choza opens later this month at 105 Western Road, Brighton.