Hispanic center gets new eatery with old name

La Fonda del Bosque to replace M’Tucci’s cocina in two months

The National Hispanic Cultural Center will soon have a restaurant again — and the name will be a familiar one.

The center’s board last week overwhelmingly voted to lease the space to City Treats Parties, owned by Stefani Mangrum.

The restaurant will be run under the La Fonda del Bosque name — which is the same name used until 2011 — and is expected to open in two months.

“After two-and-a-half months, we have spent a lot of time gauging interest,” said Christopher T. Saucedo, the center’s board president. “It’s a great space, and our committee went through great efforts to find the right tenant.”

The move for a new tenant comes after M’Tucci’s Latin Cocina didn’t renew its lease for a space on the NHCC campus.

“They just didn’t see the numbers,” Saucedo said of M’Tucci’s decision. M’Tucci’s Latin Cocina opened in May 2015 and tried a three-day week, as well as opening for certain events.

Mangrum is no stranger to running a restaurant in a museum.

“We ran the cafe inside the Albuquerque Museum for the first five years,” Mangrum said. “We’re going to start very cautiously and be open for lunch. Our goal is to be open at night.”

Mangrum said the menu will incorporate classic New Mexican comfort foods with a twist, and it will have Latin American and Mexican influences.

“We also deal with local organic farmers,” Mangrum said.

According to the new lease with City Treats Parties, the tenant will be open at least three days per week, including Sunday brunch, and will serve a minimum of two meals per day. The lease has an option to renew yearly for up to six years. Mangrum’s business will pay $2,110 per month for the space and can pay up to $10,000 in-kind per year to the center for its events. The restaurant will lease the alcohol license from the cultural center.

Mangrum catered a few events for the Hispanic center, including the recent “Piñata Exhibit” opening a few weeks ago, executive director Rebecca Avitia said.

“We’ve been impressed with the versatility and capability of her business,” Avitia said. “She’s been used for city events as well. It’s nice for someone to have a business that can sustain the naturally slow times at the NHCC.”

The center took over the restaurant in December 2011 from the National Hispanic Cultural Center Foundation, which ran the restaurant for three years before that. This is the third restaurant to rent the space.