Executing an experience: Restaurant Forty Nine Forty delivers high-end dining to Corrales

CORRALES — Location is everything, and Restaurant Forty Nine Forty has found a niche deep in the heart of Corrales.

Walk inside and you are greeted with a quaint market filled with specialty items that you will not find in commercial retailers.

Owner Erin Williams moved to Corrales more than 20 years ago from Southern California, to raise her son.

Executing an experience: Restaurant Forty Nine Forty delivers 'high-end' dining to Corrales

“I wanted him to have a real rural experience in some place that he could on his way to work see cattle and sheep and things like horses,” she explained. “I thought that was a really unique opportunity for him and to kind of have more of a kind of a country lifestyle, but be able to kind of get down to the end of Alameda road and be (at) a mall and conveniences (like) that.”

Williams has always been a “foodie” and traveled all over the world in her previous career.

“My favorite things to do were to go to local markets and groceries and small locally owned and family owned restaurants and try to stay away from the big, touristy kind of things,” she said. “So that’s where I kind of developed a love for food and all kinds of food, whether it’s something I get at a restaurant or something that I can get and take home, as far as a cooking ingredient, it was always kind of a hidden passion for me.”

Prior to becoming a restaurateur, Williams was a custom home builder, mostly in Santa Fe in 2021. She and her mother worked together for almost 21 years until her mother decided to retire. Williams continued the business for about three years but the pandemic took its toll.

Williams’ parents relocated to Corrales about 10 years ago and live next door to Williams. Her parents have vineyards on their property, and Williams decided to take care of the vines while reconnecting with herself. It led to Williams thinking about a concept that would become Fancies Bakery, Market & Cafe in Corrales, which opened in February 2023. She said the idea behind Fancies was a place for the community to gather. Fancies offers specialty food from around the world as well as baked goods, grab and go items and coffee from Candlestick Coffee Roasters that is also located in Corrales.

Prior to opening Fancies, Williams met her business partner Scott Norman, who had planned to open a “cool Mexican taco place” like the one he frequented while living in San Diego. However, it soon became clear that a taco business was not the right direction to follow in Corrales. This would lead to Williams and Norman opening Restaurant Forty Nine Forty in March 2023, in the same building as Fancies.

“We aligned ourselves with chefs that helped us develop a more high-end experience,” Williams said. “We really thought it would take off based on the demographics in the market here in Corrales, and that’s when we came up with Forty Nine Forty.”

Williams wanted to create a space that felt sophisticated and chic, and like nothing that could be found in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. She wanted to create an experience similar to one you would find in New York City, Los Angeles or the Dallas area.

“Everything is thought out, from the lighting to music, obviously, the food, the hospitality,” Williams said. “There’s been a lot of thought put in every single element to pull it all together, to give you an experience that is unmatched.”

Restaurant Forty Nine Forty features a seasonal menu that changes four times a year. Williams collaborates with head chef Isai Salinas and his team to create an approachable menu with items that people are familiar, prepared in an elevated way.

“I think some of the techniques that we’re using are a little bit more unique,” Williams said. “We do have a dry age program for our rib-eyes, which is very well received. And the rib-eye is probably our most popular entrees. It’s a 21-day dry-aged (rib-eye) and there are not a lot of folks that are doing that here locally.”

Another highly popular request is the Roasted Sea Bass, according to Williams.

“We’re doing it with a forbidden black rice, a beet and carrot puree and blood orange salsa with almonds,” she added.

The Smoked Picanha, which is a top sirloin cut with mole, is another frequently requested entree, Williams said. It features a Peruvian purple potato piloncillo and whiskey reduction sauce. Handmade tortillas also come with the menu item.

“That’s really yummy and smoky and good,” Williams said.

A standard favorite is the Burger 4940.

“It’s made with the trim of our dried rib-eye along with the ground sirloin,” Williams said. “It gives the burger patty, a real rich flavor. And it’s 8-ounces, so it’s a big burger (with) green chile and (white cheddar) cheese, butterleaf lettuce, tomato, onions and pickles on a homemade brioche bun.”

Restaurant Forty Nine Forty also offers items for guests with dietary restrictions or preferences.

“We spent a lot of time trying to develop a lot of gluten-free and vegetarian options,” Williams explained. “We even have a couple of vegan options. We heard what the public had to say about that and we listened. And so, our menu is full of a lot of really good dietary options for our folks.”