Gov.: Skipped check a ‘misunderstanding’
An apparent “misunderstanding” led employees of a north-side Santa Fe restaurant to believe that Gov. Susana Martinez had purposely stiffed them on a $17 lunch bill Wednesday.
Both the manager and a server at Five Star Burgers at the DeVargas Center mall told that Martinez threw the bill in a trash can, took her to-go order and walked out without paying sometime during the noon hour.
But several hours after The Santa Fe Reporter posted a story about the incident on its website and reporters began calling the governor’s communications staff, a man who had been with the governor at the time came back to the restaurant and paid for Martinez’s lunch, server Clarissa Lucero said.
“He said it was just a misunderstanding,” Lucero said. It’s not clear whether the man is one of the governor’s state police security detail.
Joseph Cueto, a spokesman for the governor, said in an email Wednesday night, “This is a supersized nothingburger. The governor pays for her meals, including this
one, and attempting to exploit an obviously honest misunderstanding just demonstrates how petty our politics have become.”
Lucero, who said she has worked at Five Star for about two months, was working when Martinez and the man came in to order their food. Manager Robert Gonzales took the order.
The man asked for separate checks, Gonzales said. Martinez ordered a bison burger and fried green beans.
Martinez and the man sat at a table near the door to wait for their food. Gonzales said he brought Martinez a glass of water.
When he brought their checks, Gonzales said, the man paid with a credit card. But Martinez took her check, crumpled it and walked over to a trash bin to throw it away. The two took their food and left.
Employees declined to give the name of the man with Martinez who paid with his credit card.
Gonzales, who says he has worked at the restaurant for a year and has been manager for about four months, said he did not call police over the incident. “I just comped it,” he said.
Martinez was very friendly while she was there, Gonzales said. But he added, “She didn’t even leave me a tip.”