Range Café rustles up new location near Cottonwood
Iconic eatery plans to open by Aug. 31
Is it the huevos rancheros or is it the 3-D cow sculptures? Whatever it is, the Range Café has become something of an icon in the Albuquerque area. And now the Bernalillo-based New Mexican food eatery is opening another location.
The new restaurant will be opening in the building formerly occupied by Lone Star Steakhouse at 10019 Coors NW near Cottonwood Mall. The 5,000-square-foot restaurant is being renovated, and co-owner Matt DiGregory is hoping to open by the end of August.
DiGregory said his restaurants — he is also the owner of Standard Diner and Freighthouse Kitchen + Tap in Bernalillo — usually employ roughly 50 people.
The move to the West Side was a big change for DiGregory.
“We usually love to take over these old funky buildings, but the West Side doesn’t have any,” he said.
DiGregory said he was approached by the landlords, and after looking at the building, decided it would be perfect for the Range Café.
The location is undergoing heavy construction as DiGregory opens up the east wall and adds large windows. He is also expanding the outdoor patio. “The building has a perfect view of the Sandias, but it was designed in Texas (for Lone Star) and, typical giant corporation, they didn’t take into account anything around the building,” DiGregory said. He plans to fix that.
For DiGregory, each Range Café location needs to be unique but still identifiable. He has a team of local artists that he uses, including 84-year-old Roger Evans, who designs the iconic 3-D cows.
“I like to tell (the artists), ‘Hey, here is your space. Just go for it.’ We have been very fortunate with the people that we get to work on the interiors,” he said.
DiGregory also said that he isn’t giving up on expanding further into Albuquerque, but “the price of liquor licenses (in New Mexico) is starting to become prohibitively expensive.” Future expansions, he said, may be out of state.