The Range Cafe, a 33-year-old New Mexico culinary institution, has eliminated dinner service at four of its six locations as the locally-owned restaurant chain adapts to rising costs and changing customer patterns that have squeezed restaurants statewide.
Only breakfast and lunch will be served at Range Cafe locations on Central Avenue, Rio Grande Boulevard, Wyoming Boulevard, and Coors Boulevard in Albuquerque. The original Bernalillo location and Los Lunas restaurant will continue full dinner service.
The business has maintained many employees for years, but finding and affording enough staff to serve three meals daily at six restaurants has become increasingly difficult.
The Range Cafe opened its original location in 1992 when co-owners Tom Fenton and Matt DiGregory converted a former gas station in Bernalillo into a 56-seat restaurant, according to the company’s website. After a devastating fire destroyed the original building in 1995, the restaurant reopened in its current Bernalillo location in 1996 and expanded to six locations known for “ordinary food done extraordinarily well.”
The Bernalillo and Los Lunas locations will maintain their dinner service, with Los Lunas serving lunch and dinner on weekdays and all three meals on weekends. The company has also condensed its menu and adjusted hours at some locations to improve operational efficiency.
The Range Cafe’s operational changes aim to focus resources on the most profitable service periods while maintaining the locally-owned chain’s reputation for quality food and community support. The restaurant has long been known for its colorful southwestern decor, New Mexican cuisine and support of local artists.
“These updates are not about cutting back; they are about building a stronger, more sustainable Range Cafe for the future,” Fenton and DiGregory said in a statement posted to the restaurant’s website. “By focusing on the hours and experiences that our guests love most, we’re able to support our team more effectively.”
The changes take effect immediately at all four Albuquerque locations, which will now focus on breakfast, brunch and lunch service during adjusted operating hours.
