Jose and Tami Saucedo, owners of The Stand, are retiring June 4.

The good news is that the Mexican restaurant is staying in the family. Their son Eric Saucedo and Aryn Bird will own and operate The Stand as the Saucedos have since 1994.

“It means the world and for me to take over what they started and continue the traditions that they’ve had and standards of food and service that they’ve worked to achieve for the last 30 years,” Eric Saucedo said.

In 1990, the Saucedos, originally from Santa Cruz, California, opened a food stand in Bend, casually called “The Stand.” The name worked so well they adopted it as they opened in Seaside. They closed the Bend location a year later, in 1995.

The Stand was a success from the start, drawn by the food, prices — “everything,” Tami Saucedo said.

Changes over the years have been minimal, with some longer hours and more days, and “lots of employees at some point,” she said.

The Stand pivoted during the pandemic, staying open for to-go orders throughout and with outdoor seating.

Their weekday hours have been in place since the beginning by design, as the family wanted their weekends reserved for time together.

Eric Saucedo currently runs the Street 14 Cafe in Astoria, and before that, the Times Theatre kitchen in Seaside.

Bird, from Spokane, Washington, met Eric Saucedo when they both worked on a landscaping job seven years ago.

Bird will be working in front and Eric Saucedo in the kitchen.

“We’ll just slowly see what we feel we can change and what we can improve,” he said. “But like my mom said, it’s been an amazingly successful business here for the last 30 years. So there’s not much that needs to be changed.”

Tami and Jose Saucedo will remain in Seaside, with possible future destinations unknown.

“We’re going to be here, we’re going to be available to help our son,” Jose Saucedo said. “And then we’re going to travel the country, perhaps camping to some of the places we haven’t been.”

“We wish our son the best,” Tami Saucedo said. “You know, it’s very successful as it is. We’ve only been open 24 hours a week and we’ve been able to make a living.”

Regulars will be shocked and perhaps relieved by one change. The famously cash-only restaurant will be bringing in credit cards, Eric Saucedo said. “And Square.”