Tomato Cafe celebrates 30 years

Garlic green beans are the customer favorite at Tomato Café, although the vegetarian posole is a close second in popularity. The Albuquerque Italian buffet-style café has stayed in business through location changes, a change in ownership and some pandemic pivots — not an easy task for a buffet concept.

Tomato Café celebrates 30 years in business in July. The café was opened by Deborah Gagnon in 1993. After seeing steakhouses and other fine dining establishments hit hard in the late ‘80s, she wanted a recession-proof restaurant concept, said current owner Kurt Wagner.

“The customer base of Tomato Café is a very loyal one, and I think the big thing that Tomato Café is founded off of is that consistency,” Wagner said. “Most everybody that comes in, they’ll talk to you about how their parents brought them here when they were little kids, and now they’re bringing their kids, some grandkids.”

The menu features salads, soups, pizza, pasta and desserts, like the homemade tiramisu.

Wagner started as a server at the café in 1996. He quickly worked his way up to general manager, but eventually left to become a food broker, the middleman between food wholesalers and manufacturers. Wagner purchased Tomato Café in 2018, accomplishing a long-term goal.

But after a lease could not be renewed, it took almost a year before the restaurant could open in a new location.

“We were able to open up February of 2019, and then COVID hit a year later,” Wagner said. “That was tough because our concept is all-you-can-eat and people know us for all-you-can-eat.”

The restaurant offered pizzas to go and found other to-go options to try and keep the business going.

“You learned a lot and learned about your character,” Wagner said. “You learned about your customers, how much they appreciate you. There’s a lot to be said for our customers because there were a lot of people that supported us, and I’m just very thankful that we’re open, and it’s a testament to the previous owner and the relationships she really developed.”

Despite location changes and pandemic challenges, the café maintains consistency by cooking the same recipes. Loyal employees like kitchen manager Adam Smith, who has been running the kitchen for at least a decade, also help maintain consistent quality, said Wagner.

Tomato Café is located at 7900 San Pedro NE.