Bent Street Grille set to open this month
The previously-closed Bent Street Cafe & Deli is getting a facelift and will soon be reopened under different ownership and a slightly different name: Bent Street Grille and American Bistro.
New owners Linda Gutekunst and Guillermo Casarrubias hope to breathe new life into the establishment and create a middle-ofdowntown hub for food and drinks seven days a week.
Gutekunst and Casarrubias moved to Taos in 2018 after spending time traveling the country with hopes of retirement. “[We] did not see a restaurant coming into our laps; it was very serendipitous,” said Gutekunst. “One thing led to another, and here we are — the new owners of Bent Street Grille and American Bistro.”
Gutekunst said they have completely revamped the former building, creating an open kitchen atmosphere “so you can actually sit there and chat with the chefs or you can have a beer… We pretty much gutted the place. It’s brand new floors, brand new kitchen, brand new countertops,” she explained.
The menu will be “All Americana,” said Casarrubias. “We’re going to have eggs benedict, we’re going to have huevos rancheros, pancakes and waffles,” he said. “I just finished my menu yesterday.”
Both owners are vegan, and said they will likely have vegetarian or vegan items comprise about a third of their menu. However, this doesn’t mean you won’t be able to get some old favorites. “The reuben is not going away,” Gutekunst said.
They also said they hope to make their prices reasonable. “We’re going to keep the prices as they were before the pandemic, probably like $1 more just because of where we are right now. Food is more expensive right now,” Casarrubias said. “It’s not going to the lower end of Taos. It’s not going to be the higher end of Taos. It’s going to be right in the middle.”
After passing a health inspection on Monday (May 9), the restaurant is set to open to the public on May 23, if everything goes according to plan.
“Hopefully, with the beautiful setting that’s here and, you know, the great shops around us… we can make it its own little bit of a destination,” Gutekunst said.