SPRINGFIELD -- Sisters Karina Marte and Candy Cedeno tell folks that the food at their Mesa Buffet in the Springfield Plaza is family fare.

"Everything is cooked with love," Cedeno said. "It's what you would find your mother, grandmother or aunt home making in the kitchen."

And they aren't kidding.

"Our mother is in the kitchen," she said.

And with that, mother Ana Marte made her rounds to make sure all the guests at the restaurant's grand opening Friday were getting their fill.

The Marte family has had a Springfield restaurant, Chicharron at 494 Central St. near Hancock Street, for 11 years.

Cedeno said her mother kept noticing customers wanted to order "a little bit," meaning a little bit of this, a little bit of that, so they could sample Latin cuisine. It was Ana who came up with the idea of opening a buffet so people could sample whatever they wanted or make a meal of one entree.

Foods include roast pork, rice and beans, baked chicken, stewed chicken, stewed ribs and mangu, a dish of mashed plantains.

Mesa -- Spanish for "table" -- is open seven days a week for lunch and dinner from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Meals cost from $14.99 for an adult on weekends to a as little as $4.99 for a young child getting a weekday lunch.

The restaurant takes the space once occupied by a Chinese restaurant and is a few doors down from the famous Koffee Kup Bakery in Springfield Plaza.

"We wanted a busy spot," Cedeno said. "And we wanted a diverse neighborhood. We wanted everyone to sample our our food."

State Rep. Carlos Gonzalez, D-Springfield, helped as master of ceremonies for the grand opening. He said the foods at Mesa represent a cross section of Latin cuisine.

"People think its just Puerto Rican," he said. "It's not."