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A Colorado-based, outdoors-themed sandwich shop and a viral mac and cheese restaurant are expected to open in Albuquerque this year.
Yampa Sandwich Co., a Colorado company, is asking New Mexicans to eat more adventurously and Roni’s Mac Bar is a make-your-own macaroni bar that asks customers to think outside the box.
Yampa Sandwich is co-owned by David Pepin and Peter Boniface, two high school friends who reconnected after years apart and decided to open a sandwich company.
They’re growing the brand and are in talks about opening a location in Albuquerque. However, the deal is not quite finalized so the location and opening date are still being determined.
“Albuquerque has that outdoor lifestyle, it is very aligned with our brand,” Pepin said.
They’re hoping to expand into Texas, Arizona, Utah and New Mexico.
That brand is centered around hiking and outdoor activities with some of the sandwiches named Trailhead — turkey, cheddar, bacon, avocado, tomato, lettuce and mayo — and Fourteener — roast beef, Gorgonzola, roasted red pepper, arugula and horseradish mayo.
Another franchise coming to Albuquerque is Roni’s Mac Bar.
A TikTok sensation with 30 million views, the restaurant's videos show mouthwatering plates of macaroni stacked high with bacon, cheese and almost anything else you could imagine. There are currently stores in Texas, Missouri and Utah. The Albuquerque restaurant will be at 2108 Central SE and is expected to open sometime this winter, according to the company's Instagram page.
Kyler and Alexis Salisbury are high school sweethearts from Clovis and now they're franchise co-owners in Albuquerque.
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Roni’s will be their first entrepreneurial endeavor.
“We’re major foodies,” Alexis said. “There's nothing like it here in Albuquerque.”
The restaurant will offer a bar of toppings and options to put on mac and cheese, as well as a unique spin on grilled cheese.
Kyler will be the general manager of the restaurant. He previously managed a movie theater, and Alexis will help out after she clocks out of her job at an Albuquerque bank.
“We started getting in our equipment,” Alexis said.
