Molly’s La Casita, a Mexican food staple in Midtown for decades, has been sold, but don’t worry about it changing too much. Owner Jamie Chapman sold it to Molly’s regulars Jessica and Kevin Carnell, and part of the sale included the recipes.

“When I gave her the recipes I said, ‘Here’s the gold, all there in Robert’s original handwriting,’” Chapman said, referring to her late husband. “It took him forever to get Molly’s exact recipes because she’d tell him a different thing every time he asked. She just used her hands to measure.”

Jessica Carnell said the only thing that will change about the food is they hope to serve more of it.

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“We want to get things back like they were pre-COVID, as far as hours and staff,” she said. “When we have enough people, we want to start weekend brunch. Otherwise, we’re just going to spruce up a little.”

Molly’s started as a tiny shop on Lamar in 1974, named for owner Molly Gonzales. In 1982, Robert Chapman bought it from her, hired her as the chef and opened Molly’s La Casita just west of Overton Square on Madison.

“We had our wedding reception here in 1984,” Chapman said. “There are a lot of memories in this place. Molly’s has been my love story.”

In 2005, Robert Chapman had a stroke at age 55, and he died in 2010. Jamie Chapman, who’d worked at investment firms and had taken care of her husband in his illness, took it over, though day-to-day operations were still run by general manager Kelly Johnson.

Chapman said she’s “happy and relieved” to have sold it to the Carnells.

“I didn’t sell just because of COVID. Robert always wanted to retire by the time he was 65, but he died when he was 60 and I had to step in,” she said. “Now I’m 65, so I thought, I’m doing it. I’m selling.”

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But not just to anyone. She didn’t want to sell to a restaurant group. She wanted to sell to someone who cared about Molly’s.

“We’ve been coming to Molly’s for a long time,” Carnell said. “We live right across the street. Jamie told us she wanted to retire, and Kelly thought we were the right people for it, the perfect fit. We thought, ‘well, perhaps.’ ”

They all kept talking about it, and on Sept. 7, it happened.

“It was important that it was them,” Chapman said. “They love Molly’s, they love being here, and they’re young entrepreneurs who’ll be able to do stuff that I just don’t want to do anymore. They’re kind of like Robert and I were.”

The first thing to happen is this: Johnson is back. She’s been gone a few months but agreed to return, at least for a while. She’s been at Molly’s almost from the start and has run the place with both Chapmans. She left because she needed personal time, but was ready to come back to help the Carnells get started, and Chapman said she, too, is available as needed through the end of the year.

But she welcomes retirement.

“I have no plans. I’m going to wind down and not have to worry about restaurant stuff day to day. I might clean my house up, paint some stuff, change my office around a little, see my granddaughter more. I might do some volunteer work,” she said. “Yesterday Jessica asked if she could give me an application and I said no, no.”