Copyright © 2021 Albuquerque Journal
New Mexico restaurant owners and industry leaders said they were excited but cautious Wednesday when the state announced the monthslong ban on indoor dining will end for several counties.
Restaurants in Bernalillo County haven’t been permitted to serve indoor diners since November, when the county was designated as “red” in a tiered system designed to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Bernalillo County – along with Sandoval, Santa Fe, Doña Ana and 11 other counties – was officially moved to the “yellow” tier Wednesday, allowing restaurants to offer indoor dining at 25% capacity.
“We’re thrilled that this is hopefully the beginning of the end,” said Carol Wight, CEO of the New Mexico Restaurant Association.
Wight said she is optimistic about the transition of Bernalillo and other counties into the yellow tier, but warned it will take restaurants some time to adjust back to serving indoors.
She said some restaurants, particularly counter service establishments, will be able to open as soon as they’re allowed to. Others, though, will need time to bring back employees and scale up their purchasing of ingredients.
“I would encourage people to have patience with restaurants right now,” she said. “Because it’s almost like opening your restaurant for the first time.”
Wight urged customers to call ahead or make reservations to ensure their restaurant is ready for indoor dining.
Many restaurants and breweries were quick to announce the reopening of their dining rooms, like Brew Lab 101 Beer & Cider Co., which announced on social media that it would be resuming indoor service just several hours after Sandoval County moved into the yellow designation.
M’Tucci’s Twenty-Five issued an announcement Wednesday afternoon that it would be reopening for indoor service starting today, Thursday. In the release, the restaurant noted that this is its fourth reopening in one year.
Not all restaurant owners are optimistic about the change.
Nick Kapnison, who owns several restaurants – including Nick & Jimmy’s Restaurant and Mykonos Cafe & Taverna – said the changing public health orders are confusing and the latest “doesn’t help much.”
Terry Keene, co-owner of Artichoke Cafe and the two locations of Farina Pizzeria, said he doesn’t think the opening of indoor dining will mean an automatic influx of cash.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a gold rush to restaurants because they’re open for 25% – and we have history on our side,” he said, explaining that the other two times Albuquerque restaurants have been allowed to open at 25% capacity, dining rooms haven’t even reached that level.
Keene said with many people still cautious about eating inside or at a restaurant, he doesn’t expect the opening of indoor dining to make a huge difference in terms of income for his business.
However, Keene said he is still excited for the change, which will allow him to reopen the temporarily shuttered Artichoke Cafe.
He said the restaurant will open as soon as it can, while the two locations of Farina are expected to seat diners inside almost immediately.
“At least we’re moving in the right direction and I give … Bernalillo County the credit for working hard to do that,” Keene said.
