Santa Fe Bite is back again
The joint beloved for its green chile cheeseburgers now has an Albuquerque location and will soon return to Santa Fe.
Santa Fe Bite and its green chile cheeseburger are back. The Bite, which recently opened in Albuquerque, is returning to Santa Fe in the former Tecolote Café space at 1616 St. Michael’s Drive in mid-September. Breakfast will be served every day except Monday, when the restaurant will be closed.
It’s been a busy time for Santa Fe Bite owners John and Bonnie Eckre since they closed Santa Fe Bite at Garrett’s Desert Inn in October. At the time, they talked about retiring. Now, Bonnie Eckre said they couldn’t come to lease terms with the hotel’s new owners.
“We wanted to take a step back and reevaluate our situation,” she said about closing the downtown location.
Pretty much right away, former Santa Fe Bite employees Jaclyn Gomez and Tomás Baca approached the Eckres with the idea of taking Santa Fe Bite to Albuquerque. At the same time, Angela Mason and Armando Rivas, who were front of house manager and chef when Santa Fe Bite closed, wanted to reopen the restaurant somewhere else in town.
In Albuquerque, Gomez, Baca and Chris Wagner found a Nob Hill site in January and opened the first Santa Fe Bite franchise July 19 at 3407 Central Ave. NW, just a bit east of the University of New Mexico.
The Eckres fielded and turned down numerous other franchise requests though they no longer had a restaurant.
“We have no interest to open in Denver or Texas, which we were approached with,” Bonnie Eckre said.
The popular 66-year-old eatery, once known as Bobcat Bite, was on Route 66 on the Old Las Vegas Highway from 1953 until the Eckres moved it to Garrett’s Desert Inn on Old Santa Fe Trail in August 2013 and renamed it Santa Fe Bite. The Albuquerque trio has latched onto the Route 66 symbolism.
“We thought this would be a great opportunity because it’s on Old Route 66,” Baca said of the Central Avenue location.
The new Santa Fe location came up much more recently. The Eckres, Mason and Rivas seemed to have another location nearly nailed down but the deal fell through. Bonnie Eckre in early July remembered Tecolote, which closed May 29, and mentioned it to the Eckres’ broker, John Shepler.
A lease was quickly arranged, and the Eckres got the keys Tuesday.
The Tecolote booths and bar will remain, though the booths will be reupholstered. The lights will stay, but new tables and chairs will be brought in.
“When Armando and Angie brought us in here the first time, John said ‘I see this’ and I said ‘I see that,’ ” Bonnie Eckre said.
“That” was a dedicated baking area that will allow Bonnie to bake whenever she pleases, though Rivas’ wife Maribel will serve as the chief baker.
John Eckre, meanwhile, has been dabbling with coffee bean roasting. The new kitchen space has room for him to dedicate himself more seriously to roasting the coffee beans that will be served at Santa Fe Bite.
What will be different is the Eckres won’t be working double shifts anymore. Bonnie Eckre will strive to cut 16 daily hours to six or eight, though Mason jokes Eckre likely still will do 12 hours.
Bonnie Eckre used to be more front-of-house focused. Now, she will be a utility player.
“I would like to see my role as where I am needed,” she said. “If I’m needed to make shakes, I will make shakes. If dishes need washing, I’ll wash dishes.”
John Eckre didn’t directly pledge to reduce hours, just saying he will help out in the kitchen and do administrative tasks.
The Eckres remain the owners and will continue to come to work every day, but more and more Mason and Rivas will run the show.
“Most likely, day-to-day things we will run ourselves,” Mason said.
The Eckres acknowledge Mason and Rivas have larger roles now.
“We have a profit-sharing program, and they are our partners right now,” John Eckre said. “They are pretty much helping us with the heavy lifting.”
Mason and Rivas, after all, had the desire to relaunch Santa Fe Bite. Both started there when the Eckres relocated to Garrett’s.
“It’s such a part of Santa Fe, and we wanted to keep it going,” Mason said. “We saw the love Santa Fe has for the Bite.”
Still, the Eckres don’t plan to go away soon.
“We’re always going to be involved with the restaurant,” John Eckre said.
“I don’t think we’re going to step away,” Bonnie Eckre added.