Leticia “Letty” Short, 59, head chef and owner at Cantina Letty and a community icon, passed away Sunday, Dec. 6. Her memorial was held Dec. 11 with an outpouring of support.
“Her warmth, kindness, and unwavering spirit touched every person who had the blessing of knowing her. Her loss leaves a profound emptiness in our hearts,” staff posted to the Cantina Letty Facebook page. “May we continue to keep her spirit alive in everything she built and inspired — especially here at Cantina Letty, where her presence will forever be felt.”
Through an outpouring of posts, tributes, comments, and word-ofmouth, Short is described as kind, a mother, a testament to what love can do, a friend, a delightful server and chef, heartfelt, and much more.
“Feels like we have lost our caring mom,” wrote staff in the comments to people’s outpouring of grief. “We can’t even muster the courage to go close to her table. Her chair is empty.”
Jipal Bhalodwala, informally known as JB, opened Cantina Letty and named it after the restaurant’s head chef and co-owner Letty Short.
“I’ve known Letty for 10 years. She served my family for many years. She was well-known for her hospitality, knowing your order, and because she helped the language barrier, knowing both Spanish and English,” JB said. “When I discussed opening the restaurant with her, she said, ‘If this happens, it will fulfill a lifelong dream to have a restaurant.’
“When we started, it was a simple thought, “How we can bring all people who she served together? Let’s make one place that is very unique, which is known as Miss Letty,” JB added. “We wanted to make a family based restaurant and she was essential to that. She was a hardworking and compassionate lady.”
While Short was known for her food and serving at Letty’s, she also worked at El Amigo for eight years and at El Tequila for over 20 years. According to a Baldwin 2K feature on Short, she started working when she was only 12 years old, cleaning and babysitting. She also dropped out of high school in order to work two jobs to help out her single mother.
“That non-stop work ethic has helped Short, a single mother like her mother, raise two happy and healthy grown children. All the while, she’s always managed to form a close bond with her customers,” Baldwin2K published in its 2022 article. “Babies and small children, for whatever reasons, cling to Short, and everybody has to get a hug from Letty.”
JB stated that though Cantina Letty was only open six months with Short as its face, her presence made the restaurant, its food, and its community.
“She enjoyed every single day at Cantina Letty. We see the response from the community and its just unparalleled,” JB said. “After we reopened, staff was preparing food while crying, serving while crying. The staff we have has worked with her for over 20 years, some of them 10 years, and some of them only five years, but we are all her family.
“We know we lost Ms. Letty, but you (the community) didn’t lose us. We are still here, and we know exactly what to do, what she did. Am I worried about the business? No. Because communities are higher than me. And Letty has worked so hard throughout her life. She never got to sit down. I want her to rest and watch over us, and, if we do anything wrong, slap us,” JB said with a chuckle.
With over 100 photos shared solely to her tribute wall and so many more shared across social media, Short is shown hugging and loving the community she served. Many described her as a friend, a maternal figure, a grandmother, and someone closer than a server because of Letty’s commitment to knowing everyone who sat at her tables throughout the years.
“There were no strangers to Letty. She was always warm and friendly and ready to give a hug. Met Letty many years ago while she was working at El Amigo. Through working there and the other Mexican restaurants and finally opening her own Cantina Letty, I think Letty had served most of the Milledgeville residents,” wrote Linda Ashley on Short’s tribute wall.
Short is survived by her daughters, Katherine Short (Rolando Barcenas) and Gracie Short (Michael Hill); sons, Larry Gerald Short, Jr. (Brittany) of Gray and Andrew Short (Hannah Anderson) of Milledgeville; grandchildren, Jaydan, Caroline, Madison, Rhianna, Graceson, Lohen and Logan; sister, Lilya Gallegas Esquivel; and brothers, Jessie Esquivel, Jimmy Esquivel, and Frank Ezquivel.
The Baldwin Bulletin reached out to all of her children to share a memory or quote about their mother. Only Katherine Short Barcenas was able to respond before the newspaper’s deadline. If any other memories are shared, they will be published to the online edition.
“I will miss my mother calling me and saying ‘Katie, make me some spaghetti.’ She loved mine. I will miss hearing, ‘ayayay Katalina,’ something she would say whenever I wanted something from her, was in trouble, or she found out I was doing something wrong,” Short Barcenas wrote. “I will miss her voice and her presence.”
View Letty Short’s obituary or post to her tribute wall by visiting williamsfuneralhome. net/obituaries/ letty-short. To support Short’s family, visit gofundme.com/f/ helping-lettys-family- through-this-difficult- time.