The process of dismantling the long-closed Club Cafe restaurant in Santa Rosa, New Mexico, began this week, according to the current print edition of the Guadalupe County Communicator.
The publisher of the newspaper, M.E. Sprengelmeyer, said in a text message Thursday the restaurant’s tall sign still stands, but that the building was coming down.
The newspaper reported:
Workers began asbestos abatement this week, tearing out the roofing and flooring of the long-closed Club Cafe. The project sets the stage for a complete demolition of the landmark eatery by mid-spring.
You can see the front page of today’s Communicator on the Newseum website here.
The newspaper in June reported the Club Cafe likely would be demolished unless an unlikely savior was found in the interim. Joseph Campos had owned the property for about 20 years, planning a reopening that never came. He said bringing the building up to code would have been cost-prohibitive.
Known since 1935 for its sourdough biscuits, New Mexican cuisine and its “smiling Fat Man” logo on signs and billboards, Club Cafe closed in 1992 after a triple-whammy of the opening of Interstate 40, a recession, and the opening of a McDonald’s. The Chicago Tribune had a story about its impending closing at the time. The “fat man” logo lives on at Joseph’s Bar & Grill down the street.
Ron Chavez, the longtime owner of Club Cafe until its closure, died at age 78 in October. He had resurfaced as a poet and writer in Taos, New Mexico.
(Image of the Club Cafe signs by Pete Zarria via Flickr)
McDonalds coming to town is always a bad “sign”
Ditto for Walgreens.