Silver Mine Brewery opens its door in Santa Rosa

To understand Silver Chavez’s motivations for opening a brewery, it’s essential to also have some perspective regarding his level of investment in the Santa Rosa community.

A journalist by trade, Chavez launched the Guadalupe County Communicator many years ago to fill what he felt was a void in the area.

“The Santa Rosa News was in existence at the time — something I didn’t appreciate or believe in,” Chavez recalled. “So I decided to open up my own. We put the Santa Rosa News into bankruptcy. And we’re still here. Well, I should say the newspaper is still going — and doing very well.”

Back when he ran the Communicator, Chavez authored a political column entitled “Thesis from the Silver Mind.” It was, he says, a way to “keep our local politicians in line.” While Chavez is long since retired, many people in Santa Rosa still know him by the moniker. So when Chavez bought a local brewery, he already had something of a brand in place. It just required one minor revision — no big deal for a longtime newspaper guy.

“I changed the ‘D to an E,’ and now I have a Silver Mine Brewery,” Chavez said.

The Silver Mine Brewery officially opened in September, and instead of keeping leaders in check, a now 86-year-old Chavez slings lagers to thirsty locals. Launching a new business might seem like a tall task for someone in his golden years, but for Chavez it was about more than beer; he wanted to do something for the people.

“Right now, I think we have one restaurant left, outside of a couple of them that open a few hours per day. I wanted to do something for the community,” he said, “and basically, the only thing that I could see that nobody had ever done before was a brewery.”

Chavez has five beers on tap, including an original creation, the Silver Mine Lager (The other four on are guest taps). Regulars know that when the “Brewery” flag is flying, the establishment is open for business. Otherwise, it’s a safe bet, at least for now, that Silver Mine will be open on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. In other words, whenever football — or other key sporting events — are showing.

Another local, Phil Aragon, is responsible for the menu (it can change daily). Aragon doesn’t accept payment. Instead, he brings a box that reads: “All collected food donations will be allocated to a local emergency shareable fund to be distributed as required.”

“The good things in the community are the less things that you know,” Chavez said. “The bad gossip, everybody knows it … My goodness, that is beautiful.”

In addition to the sports bar element, Silver Mine offers plenty of history. Chavez keeps copies and clippings from old issues of the Albuquerque Journal, Albuquerque Tribune and the Communicator on hand to provide a glimpse into the past. Chavez is also usually present to visit and swap stories — he has plenty — with anyone who might be passing through.

Chavez isn’t doing all this work alone, however. His niece and her husband assist with day-to-day operations at Silver Mine, and his son, who lives in Albuquerque, drops by to handle maintenance and other significant projects when needed. Thus far, the Santa Rosa community has been appreciative of Chavez’s efforts.

“I can see a better future for the brewery itself. But is this old man ready for it? That is the question. I would like to produce something even better for our people,” he said. “But I’m limited. I’m at that age, you know. And if I can just keep something small and ongoing for our people to enjoy, that’s all I want.”