Maricela Salinas-Martinez, or "Chela" as she was more commonly known, had a favorite motto when it came to customers at her Highland restaurant, Chela's Authentic Mexican Kitchen.

"Mi casa es su casa."

On March 29, Chela's friends and family gathered at "their house" to remember Chela and support her children after she lost her long battle with leukemia March 7.

Originally planned as a fundraiser to help with Chela's medical expenses, the event instead benefited the educational fund of her children. Chela's oldest son, Nikko Berrios, 15, said he told his mom he wanted to attend a good college and pursue a business degree.

"So one day when I'm older I can come back and this can be my restaurant," he said.

Nikko has been learning the business ("My mom wanted me to start from scratch") since Chela's opened nearly eight years ago. He can barely walk to a booth in the crowded dining area without several customers greeting him as if he's been a restaurateur for decades.

"My mom would always walk around and greet everybody, and everyone would feel at home," Nikko said. "I want to keep that legacy going for my mom. I never want it to die down."

While in the hospital Chela told her son to "go to all the tables and talk to the customers," Nikko recalled.

"She made them feel at home, like this was their home," he said. "Everybody loved my mom. She treated everybody the same with equal love."

Chela's cousin, Jackie Perez, was overseeing the restaurant's banquet hall during the fundraiser, a hall crowded with bands and DJ's and friends and followers.

"This is an affirmation," Perez said. "We all knew it n but to see such a huge crowd, it's an affirmation to the fact that Chela was so loved n not just by family members but by the community."

Keeping the restaurant going was Chela's wish, Perez said. "We're going to try to keep her legacy alive," she said.