restaurants

It’s been a month since fully-vaccinated New Mexicans were allowed to stop wearing face masks in most public spaces and businesses got a choice as to whether to require them of all customers. Still, reaction to the newfound flexibility remains varied and somewhat confusing for both businesses and their customers. 

Revised state guidelines on virus restrictions that took effect on April 30 mean restaurants in Bernalillo County can now have indoor dining at 50 percent capacity. These restrictions have fluctuated over the past year and that’s been challenging for restaurants as they laid off staff, reduced hours and adapted to more takeout service.

The pandemic has been disastrous for many small business owners, but especially for those who opened in the middle of public health orders and lockdowns. Diego Diaz and his family opened Tio David’s Peruvian Flavor last May in Albuquerque’s Nob Hill. But because they didn’t open before February 2020, they were not eligible for any of the COVID-related federal loans or grants for businesses. He has started a crowdfunding campaign for the restaurant.

Restaurants in New Mexico are back where they were for a few days in late May, with limited outdoor seating, but no indoor dining allowed. New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham renewed the public health order Monday, citing climbing coronavirus cases. The New Mexico Restaurant Association is pushing back, rallying restaurants statewide to speak out against the order. KUNM’s Nash Jones reports local restaurants with and without outdoor seating vary in their support for the order and are thinking creatively about how to sustain another partial shutdown. 

Restaurants in New Mexico can reopen at 50% capacity starting June 1, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham announced this week. Myra Ghattas, the owner of Slate Street Cafe, Slate at the Museum and Sixty-Six Acres in Albuquerque, has spent years in the restaurant industry. Her three restaurants have been closed for seven weeks and Ghattas had to lay off 79 employees, although she’s brought some back to handle takeout orders. She told KUNM’s Megan Kamerick that she welcomes reopening plans, but that reduced capacities for onsite dining are not workable in the long term.

The restaurant industry has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. This week, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham announced they can re-open at 50% capacity on June 1. But New Mexico Restaurant Association Executive Director Carol Wight says as many as 6% of restaurants in the state have likely closed for good, and those that remain open will struggle to make it with only half their seating available. She spoke with KUNM’s Megan Kamerick.

The New Mexico Department of Health Sunday, Mar. 16, announced amendments to the public health order to slow the spread of COVID-19. The changes involve new rules for restaurants, including staying at or below half occupancy, having no more than six people at a table, and positioning the tables at least six feet apart. Local restaurants in Albuquerque’s International District are working to comply with the order while weathering a significant drop in business.

Let's Talk New Mexico 4/18 8a: Bans on plastic are sweeping the nation, and New Mexico is no exception. Santa Fe banned plastic grocery bags several years ago. Albuquerque just limited single-use plastics in grocery and retail stores. Businesses and consumers are having to adapt to a new normal that emphasizes the re-useable over the disposable. Do you take reusable bags to the grocery? Are concerned about how a plastic bag ban will hurt your business' bottom line or your customers’ pocketbooks? We want to hear from you! Email LetsTalk@KUNM.org or call in live during the show.

Food trucks are gaining popularity in cities across the country, including right here in New Mexico. Mobile food trucks can be a bargain for aspiring entrepreneurs who don’t have the cash or experience to open a brick and mortar restaurant.