Range Cafe adjusts hours, menu in response to economic conditions

The owners of a longtime New Mexico staple are making some changes.

Range Cafe, a locally-owned restaurant chain known for its New Mexican classics, made-from-scratch desserts and colorfully-painted interiors, is cutting dinner from all Albuquerque locations, shifting to a breakfast, brunch and lunch-only schedule. The restaurant has also adjusted its hours for other locations and condensed its menu, co-owner Matt DiGregory told the Journal.

“These updates are not about cutting back; they are about building a stronger, more sustainable Range Cafe for the future,” owners Tom Fenton and DiGregory said in a statement posted to the restaurant’s website. “By focusing on the hours and experiences that our guests love most, we’re able to support our team more effectively and preserve the quality and hospitality that make us who we are.”

Range Cafe first opened in Bernalillo in 1992, according to its website. Today, the restaurant has six locations across central New Mexico, with one in Bernalillo, one in Los Lunas and four in Albuquerque.

Starting Friday, Albuquerque locations will close at 3:30 p.m., while the Bernalillo and Los Lunas locations will close at 8:30 p.m. All of the locations will open at 7:30 a.m., except for the Los Lunas spot, which is cutting breakfast on weekdays. It will open at 7:30 a.m. on weekends and at 11 a.m. on weekdays.

“Every neighborhood we serve is unique, so we’re tailoring each location to fit your needs,” the statement reads. “... These changes allow us to be proactive in this ever-evolving industry so we can best serve our community and staff.”

The decision was a tough one, DiGregory said in an interview, but it was driven by feedback from patrons, shifting dining and traffic patterns, the evolution of the restaurant industry, a decline in tourism, an employee shortage and rising inflation.

“For every dollar spent on the restaurant, now we’re lucky if we make even a penny on that dollar, so it’s causing us to have to really look at things,” DiGregory said.

The restaurant has been struggling to staff dinner service since the COVID-19 pandemic, DiGregory said. After running the numbers, the owners discovered that dinner was costing the business more in Albuquerque than it would to cut the service.

“It’s just a matter of economics right now. Business is way down. There’s no tourism coming through New Mexico,” DiGregory said. “It’s just kind of the status of the economy right now; it’s changing how restaurants need to operate.”

One way the restaurant has had to adapt is by winding down menu items to focus on doing fewer items better, DiGregory said. The restaurant’s new fall menu will condense items further.

The hope, DiGregory said, is that “getting smaller is going to make us better.”