Santa Fe’s oldest restaurant is facing an age-old problem: unhappy neighbors.
The Plaza Café, which has been in business since 1905, is among four downtown eateries that have created outdoor dining spaces under a program the city started in response to indoor dining restrictions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
But unlike the three other restaurants, the Plaza Café has taken up space not just in front of its storefront but a big portion of its next-door neighbor’s, too, by constructing two separate outdoor patios.
“What they do in front of their footprint, I’m fine with,” said Ann Thomas, general manager of Sunwest on the Plaza.
“If that’s what they want to do and can handle, that’s great. But the secondary addition” infringes on Sunwest on the Plaza, she said.
Thomas said she and Sunwest’s owner, Ernie Montoya, are researching their options.
“Where’s the romance and charm of our downtown when you have this behemoth of a restaurant just leeching its way out into the park?” she asked.
Plaza Café owner Andy Razatos said the restaurant isn’t breaking any rules.
Initially, the thinking was that a so-called parklet could only be constructed in front of storefront windows, he said.
“But as the rule actually is written, it’s in front of the building,” he said. “We contacted our landlord and let him know that our patio space, by regulation of [the city of] Santa Fe, is that we can have a patio in front of the building, not so much the storefront.”
The landlord gave approval, leading to the creation of a second patio, he said.
Efforts to reach the landlord, which Thomas identified as Batts LLC, were unsuccessful. Montoya, who owns Sunwest, said he raised objections with the landlord, but they were ignored.
“It was more of a political move, I believe,” he said.
Montoya said the cafe’s customers block the door to his business, which sells a wide variety of merchandise, from turquoise jewelry to curios.
“If you ask them to please move, they get mad,” he said.
Thomas said people have a hard time finding the business.
“I’m grateful that at least it’s colorful, it’s pleasant, but it covers my business,” she said, referring to the two patios, which are lined with flower planters.
Razatos said the Plaza Café has tried to steer business to Sunwest.
“I don’t think the diners are inhibiting people from entering their business. In fact, we promote people to go to their store,” he said, adding the restaurant uses an app for customers on a waitlist that encourages them to visit Sunwest on the Plaza until their table is ready.
“The first message that goes to the customers is, ‘While you’re waiting, you can find something really nice at Sunwest,’ ” Razatos said.
“We want to create a better downtown,” he added. “We’re not trying to create a sore thumb or something that is despicable. It’s the complete opposite. I’m not sure what [Sunwest’s] issue is with the extra exposure. I mean, time and time again, I’ve come across customers that are dining and I’m listening to them and one of them is usually saying, ‘I’m going to go to that store right over there.’ ”
In an interview Friday, Mayor Alan Webber said the city is working on introducing an outdoor dining ordinance “so the community understands what the requirements are and how they might apply or be able to take advantage of this new feature.”
The mayor called the outdoor dining areas “terrific.”
“I know for some people they may be perceived as a problem or they may cause some inconvenience, but overwhelmingly, the response has been to see the innovation of outdoor dining as a tremendous new asset for the city,” Webber said. “The parklets are always in use. Locals have lunch. Visitors come and have dinner. The restaurants, of course during COVID, desperately needed them to survive, and now that we’re out of COVID, they turn out to be a feature rather than just a survival mechanism.”
Under a lease with the city, the Plaza Café pays $35,140 annually in base rent for the space.
Thomas described it as a sweet deal for the restaurant, particularly in what some consider the crown jewel of the city.
“That is public property that this private entity is making a large profit off of,” she said, adding Plaza Café is essentially operating three restaurants in the heart of downtown.
“That is my tax dollar, your tax dollar, everybody else’s, and they’re making, really, a tidy profit off of public property,” Thomas said.
Follow Daniel J. Chacón on Twitter @danieljchacon.
