From New York to New Mexico, and through adventures around the world, Placitas’ Jeff Spiegel saw his many businesses and public service ventures as opportunities to improve the lives of the people who worked there and the communities they served. He died earlier this week after a six-year battle with Leukemia, surrounded by family and close friends, many of whom had been employees of his many restaurant business ventures during his 42-year career. He was 77.
Born and raised in New Mexico, Jeff undertook a three-decade detour as a Peace Corps volunteer in the jungles of Peru, advisor to innovative public drug treatment and healthcare programs, and as a restaurant entrepreneur in The Village with his wife, Katie, before returning to New Mexico where he launched the highly successful M’Tucci’s restaurant franchise.
Jeff would have assigned more of the success of those efforts to the employees who worked there. When mentoring other young entrepreneurs, he proudly told how he had built a culture in the restaurant industry, notorious for high turnover, that supported his employees by providing services for employees’ children, healthcare, and mobility between locations to accommodate their personal lives. Under Jeff’s vision, the company had awarded many long-term employees ownership stakes in the company. His most recent venture, M’Tucci’s Bar Roma helped to revitalize the former Kelly’s Bar location in Nob Hill, creating a hub for activity with patio music, Italian dishes inspired by employee visits to Italy, and specialty cocktails in a hidden alleyway speakeasy.
In his later years, he co-founded a green building company, Spiegel Kinsley Construction, with son-in-law Evan Kinsley. The company launched its first “net-zero” sustainable residential community in Placitas in 2022.
Jeff is survived by his wife Katie Gardner, children Ben Spiegel, Jesse Spiegel and Suzanne Spiegel, son-in-law Evan Kinsley and daughters-in-law Megal Powel and Laurie Bludman, as well as many friends, coworkers and organizations impacted by his generosity.
A celebration of life will be held Sunday, February 25 from 12pm-3pm at M’tucci’s Twenty-Five. His ceremony will be at 1pm-2pm so please arrive before 1pm or after 2pm, and if you do arrive while the ceremony is happening, please enter quietly.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests you consider donating to the M’tutoring program via the APS Foundation ( specify the M’Tuotoring Program in your gift).