‘We put a lot of heart into it’: Last Call Eatery closes just three months after comeback

It was a packed house at Last Call Eatery on Tuesday — the restaurant’s last day of business.

Albuquerque residents flocked to the restaurant — a revived iteration of the local staple formerly known as Last Call — hoping to get one more serving of its popular carne asada fries.

“I’m bummed,” said Jiancarlos Benavente, who often took advantage of the restaurant’s late-night hours as a college student years ago. “It’s really good food.”

Chef and owner Luis Valdovinos hoped the second time would be the charm for the restaurant, which he previously ran at four locations across Albuquerque between 2012 and 2023. The business, which became known for its California-style Mexican street food and late hours, closed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and a death in the family.

Valdovinos partnered with Steve Maestas of Maestas Development Group last year to relaunch the restaurant with a renewed vision of authentic, heritage cooking. But just three months after opening at 6100 Coors NW in November, Valdovinos announced his intention to close Last Call Eatery in a video he posted to social media Monday night.

“I’m super grateful for the community of Albuquerque for supporting me and my team, supporting this vision,” Valdovinos said in the video. “We put a lot of heart into it, a lot of care, a lot of hard work, a lot of energy and effort. But sometimes that’s not enough, and that’s OK.”

The closure comes a few weeks after the owner of the shopping center housing Last Call Eatery, Montano Plaza LLC, filed a complaint against the business and Valdovinos for failing to pay rent, court records show.

The records include an email from Valdovinos to the landlord, dated Jan. 7, asking for a “short-term rent standstill” so that Last Call Eatery ownership could “stabilize cash flow, restore revenue momentum and align ownership responsibilities.”

The landlord filed the complaint with the 2nd Judicial District Court on Jan. 15, with an attorney for Montano Plaza LLC stating that the landlord gave the tenant “sufficient time to cure the default but defendants failed to do so.”

The attorney asked the court to grant the landlord immediate possession of the property and for the tenant to pay the rent and other amounts and damages due.

The property’s owners could not be reached for comment. But their attorney, Scott Aaron, told the Journal it was his understanding that Last Call Eatery was “many months late” on payments and that the owners had acknowledged that.

The lawsuit wasn’t the sole reason for the closure, Valdovinos told the Journal, but “it definitely impacted the decision.”

Valdovinos said contributing factors included a delayed opening due to construction holdups, opening the business during slower winter months and increased competition with the style of food Last Call Eatery offers.

“We opened a lot later than we anticipated initially opening because of construction delays, which ended up depleting our cash reserves,” said Valdonvinos, who added that he originally intended to open in May. “We had a good first month, but December and January were just very brutal on our revenue.”

Valdovinos said the decision wasn’t easy and that he tried everything to keep the business going. Roughly a week ago, he took to social media to ask the community to come in and support as the restaurant faced some of its slowest weeks since opening.

The post drew in some traffic, Valdonvinos said in a Saturday video, but it was too little too late.

“We just came to a point where there was no more room for us to continue to operate without digging a deeper hole,” Valdvinos said.

Residents weren’t the only ones who showed up to support the business on its last day. Other local business owners, including the owners of The Yeller Sub and Richie B’s Pizza, Subs & Salads, as well as local foodie influencers, also showed up in a last-minute effort to try to save the business.

However, it just wasn’t enough, Valdovinos said. Despite selling out of food roughly two hours before closing, the restaurant did not “make the miracle number to keep the doors open,” he said.

The community’s response to the closure announcement was still a bittersweet bright spot in the storm, Valdovinos said. 

“It comes at the end of the chapter, but the city’s always been validating to the work that I do and the craft of food that I create,” Valdovinos said. He left the restaurant on Tuesday “feeling humbled and grateful to live in a city that truly stands behind its own.”

Valdonvinos isn’t sure what’s next for him, saying he loves food, hospitality and the Albuquerque community, but needs some time to figure out his next steps.

The one thing Valdovinos said he would do differently — and that he encourages other businesses in the same boat to do — is to be candid with the community. Despite the timing not being in his favor, Valdovinos said his openness made him a believer in Albuquerque’s support for the local small business community.

“Don't hesitate to be transparent with this community. I really got to see that last week, and I kind of wish I would have maybe rallied for more support sooner,” Valdovinos said. “It takes a vision, it takes your team and then it takes the community to support that.”

Kylie Garcia covers retail and real estate for the Journal. You can reach her at kgarcia@abqjournal.com.