LAS CRUCES – Taqueria Las Catrinas surprised the Las Cruces community recently when the owners announced the restaurant was closed for good.
Owners Paloma Madrid and Eli Berger opened the business in October 2019 off Bataan Memorial West. It was the couple’s first restaurant venture and specialized in Mexican-style tacos. Berger explained the decision to close stemmed from difficulties in growing their business and the tens of thousands of dollars in debt they had accumulated.
“We talked about it and we made a decision that we can’t do it anymore,” Berger said. “Every day we opened it was $1,000 to open and we weren’t even making that a day. So it was, we couldn’t continue going into the red.”
Sunday, Sept. 18 was their last day serving customers.
Berger explained to the Sun News that the difficulties began when they first decided to open a restaurant. He said there was miscommunication with the City of Las Cruces and state agencies when applying for licenses and permits for the business.
Despite this, the business opened several months before the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, they struggled to receive aid due to Madrid being a permanent resident — and not a citizen — of the United States.
The pandemic hit them hard, particularly in finding employees. They also applied for and got a beer and wine license, but then were blocked from serving as virus variants popped up.
Berger stepped in to finance the restaurant through his other ventures.
Later, the couple said they were able to purchase a taco cart from one of the film crews they worked with in the area. But they ran into more red tape when they attempted to get a permit to use the cart at events. They said they had opportunities to partner with several large events and even New Mexico State University but lost out on the deal because of more miscommunication with the New Mexico Department of Health.
They said they feel bad actors within the state agency intentionally blocked them from growing their business. The couple said they have been in talks with an attorney about possible legal proceedings, but nothing has been filed as of yet.
“It hurts… We have the same hurt as if we lost a family member,” Berger said. “It was our blood, sweat and tears. We were down to me working as a cook… and then my wife working doubles as a waitress and she was the only waitress.”
They expressed gratitude to the customers who continued to support the restaurant and who have voiced their disappointment since the closure announcement was released. More information about the situation will become available as legal decisions are made.
Others are reading:
Leah Romero is the trending reporter at the Las Cruces Sun-News and can be reached at 575-418-3442, [email protected] or @rromero_leah on Twitter.
Comments are closed.