[1] He also played electric bass guitar for a Dallas rock band,[2] but found that he had only average talent as a musician, so decided to go back to school.
[3] Mariano currently owns and operates five Mexican restaurants in North Texas that employ more than 600 people and serve 1.3 million guests per year.
[5] At a local 7-Eleven, he noticed the Slurpee machine, and he realized he could premix the margarita and the bartenders would simply pull the lever to dispense it.
[7] He tried to buy a frozen drink machine[8] but was told no, as they were leery of his intention and said his idea would not work because alcohol does not freeze.
[5] The machine was moved to Mariano's bar where it was placed front and center, and soon customers began to ask for the frozen margarita by name.
At this time, Texas prohibited selling liquor by the glass in the dining rooms of restaurants,[9] so Mariano's Mexican Cuisine was operated as a private club.
[5] As popularity of the drink increased and word of mouth traveled, other versions of The World's First Frozen Margarita Machine hit the market[8] and even became standard bar equipment.