The historic El Pinto Restaurant, which sits on the original Santa Fe Loop alignment of Route 66 on Albuquerque’s north side, plans to add a bed-and-breakfast to its operations.
Jim Thomas, one of the owners of the restaurant, talked to KRQE-TV in Albuquerque about the proposal:
In a Planning and Zoning meeting on Wednesday, the county approved a zoning change to make the expansion possible. Thomas says the Bed and Breakfast will go in the old family house, where he and his brother grew up.
“When my parents bought the place, it was just a little dump, and they were going to bulldoze over it, but my dad expanded it out, and we can go ahead and fix it up even more,” said Thomas.
Thomas says during the summer months, they have weddings at the restaurant every weekend. “One thing for this bed and breakfast and this wellness center, we could tie it in with our weddings,” said Thomas.
The old house needs some remodeling, but Thomas has some big plans for the adobe home. “It’s going to be really super, it’ll have probably a Jacuzzi tub, a saltwater pool possibly, it would be like a spa,” said Thomas.
El Pinto also plans to expand its salsa-making operation.
Here’s the video report by the station:
The restaurant is at 10500 Fourth St., which was Route 66 from 1926 to 1937. El Pinto itself dates to 1962, starting as a one-room restaurant. It now can seat more than 1,200 people amid its dining rooms, patios and cantina and proclaims itself the “largest New Mexican restaurant in the state of New Mexico.”
(Image of the entrance to El Pinto Restaurant in Albuquerque via Facebook)