VIDALIA, La. – At first glance, there appears to be no restaurant behind the &uot;Hot Tamales – El Gringo&uot; sign located on Carter Street just across from the new courthouse.

And indeed, no restaurant is there – just the kitchen of the Apostolic Life Tabernacle Church. But inside, church members sell hot tamales by the dozen for a worthy cause.

They also sell corn shucks, for those who want to make their own tamales.

The church’s pastor, the Rev. George Murray, travels to Mexico regularly to buy corn shucks and also brings back Mexican garden furniture to sell outside the church as well.

&uot;They’re to make money for the church to pay for the utilities and the other expenses,&uot; said member Jack Bass.

He explained that because the church only has about 10 members, it would be hard to make ends meet otherwise.

&uot;We don’t even take an offering unless we have an evangelist here,&uot; Murray said. Murray and Bass were on hand Saturday to sell tamales and bundles of corn shucks.

The story began in 1969, when the church was selling peanut brittle to build its sanctuary building.

Church members had already discussed selling tamales. So when were in Baton Rouge, La., selling candy, they stopped by a Mexican restaurant at Hollywood and Park streets to ask where they could buy corn shucks.

The restaurant’s cashier said they might get more than shucks if they asked the owner – they might get a contract to make tamales for the eatery.

The church members left the restaurant with a contract to provide the eatery with 50 dozen tamales every week – and a church enterprise was born.

The church’s tamale customers still include a number of people from Baton Rouge who, when they pass through the area, stop by to load up on the Mexican treat.

The clientele is a mix of regulars and travelers who see the sign and stop in out of curiosity.

&uot;And a lot of our business depends on the weather,&uot; Bass said. &uot;Cold weather gets people to thinking about eating hot tamales, for some reason.&uot;

The kitchen is open from 8 a.m. to 7:30 or 8 p.m. daily, excluding Sundays.

The Dart is a weekly feature in which a reporter throws a dart at a map and finds a story where it lands.