Griff’s Hamburgers abruptly closes down its Albuquerque Route 66 location

Griff’s Hamburgers, a small regional chain that dates back more than 60 years, announced it was shutting down its Albuquerque restaurant along Route 66 after the end of the business day on July 6.

This is what the company posted on its website for the Albuquerque location at 8516 Central Ave. (aka Route 66):

“After careful consideration Griff’s of America, Inc. will be closing our Griff’s Restaurant on Central SE due to many challenging incidents that make it unsafe and undesirable to continue to operate at this location. We have not been able to make improvements and investments at this location that our loyal customers in Albuquerque deserve due to the uncertain environment that our business would operate in.

“We want to say thank you to all the loyal customers who have supported us over the 60 years of serving you. We hope to return to Albuquerque at a future time as a part of our growth plan.

“The Griff’s Hamburger will continue to operate in our Texas and Louisiana locations.

“With sincerity, we say, ‘Thank you, Albuquerque!'”

West Texas A&M professor and Route 66 enthusiast Nick Gerlich wrote in a Facebook post about the closure:

I get it. That part of ABQ is a little rough (I’m putting it politely). I recall being yelled at when I took this photo in broad daylight. The nearby Walmart was one of the stores that chain shuttered this year as well. The result is a neighborhood that is rapidly becoming a food desert, but when you can’t run a business profitably, there is often only one choice.

Exit, Stage Right.

Gil’s Thrilling (and Filling) blog wrote about the ABQ location:

Having been stationed at Kirtland Air Force base in the early 80s meant close proximity to Griff’s giant burgers then described as “the size of a table.” In the 80s, you could drive up and pay one buck for four nice-sized burgers that were bigger and better by far than anything offered at McDonald’s. Inflation has affected not only Griff’s, but my once svelte waistline. Today, a giant green chile cheeseburger will cost you about just shy of five dollars, but it’s still a bargain at that price.

Many of the other Griff’s locations are in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro, hundreds of miles from Route 66.

Griff’s Hamburgers was founded by HJ Griffith in 1960 in Kansas City, Missouri. Initial restaurants came in an A-frame made by Valentine Diner in Wichita, Kansas. Griff’s now is based in Dallas.

(Excepted image from Google Street View of Griff’s Hamburgers in Albuquerque)