Las Cruces restaurant owner adapts during COVID-19 closure

LAS CRUCES – Alma’s Kitchen, a favorite of bingo players at St. Genevieve’s Catholic Church Parish Hall, has had to close it’s doors during the COVID-19 pandemic — another casualty of the virus. Owner Arik Ruiz has had to look for other work while he keeps the kitchen closed to protect customers.

Alma’s Kitchen, named after Ruiz’s mother, started 10 years ago as a catering business. Ruiz said they were able to rent out the kitchen in the St. Genevieve’s Catholic Church Parish Hall in 2014 because his mother and grandmother used to volunteer during bingo events.

Alma retired three years ago, passing the kitchen on to Ruiz. With operating hours on Thursday, Friday and Sunday, most of his customers are older members of the community who play bingo in the hall.

More:Supreme Court weighs New Mexico restrictions on restaurants

Having had to close in March, Ruiz said he tried to adapt, providing takeout orders to customers. However, his two employees were let go because he wanted them to have a chance at finding another job.

“They help me as much as they can, but at the same time I was, ‘I’m sorry, I don’t know when I’m going to be able to open back again,’” Ruiz said. “So, I rather for you to find a job.”

On his own, Ruiz tried to deliver to-go orders for free, but this did not last long. To make ends meet, Ruiz took on a job with OrangeCrate, delivering food orders from restaurants. He then started working for Instacart, delivering groceries to customers.

“I was trying to figure out what I can do because I need to pay my bills,” Ruiz said.

Working with NMSU students

Another hit to Ruiz’s restaurant will be the possible lack of student support from New Mexico State University. An NMSU almnus himself, Ruiz said he enjoys helping students when he can. Students in the School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management have volunteered with the kitchen in the past, but with a large number of NMSU classes and organizations going virtual, this partnership will have to adapt as well.

Alyssa Adams, president of the National Society of Minorities in Hospitality, said the group started volunteering with Ruiz in 2018. Students help cook and sell food — gaining experience in the kitchen as well as with customer service — and Ruiz teaches them his family recipes.

On campus:NMSU makes changes inside and outside of the classroom to prepare for fall semester

Alma’s Kitchen also aided them with an enchilada fundraiser to send members to a national conference to make career connections. Adams said five to ten students were normally involved. Now, the pandemic and closure of restaurants will require the students to get creative with their volunteering.

“We’re just trying to all learn the new way of how everything is going to go (on campus) and once we get that under control then yes, we’ll definitely reconnect,” Adams said. “We’re hoping to keep that connection and possibly maybe team up and maybe do to-go orders or help him even hopefully maybe do deliveries as well.”

Customer service

Ruiz said he misses cooking in the kitchen and interacting with his customers, but he tries to keep in touch with them often. He said they call him sometimes because they want to interact with other people.

“Of course I miss them, but at the same time I try to keep in touch with the customers to make sure if they need anything to let me know.”

Others are reading:'Adopt-A-Resident': Local students connect with senior citizens through virtual pen pal program

Ruiz said he tries to check in with his customers once a week to see if they need any food or groceries because he knows some people do not have family in town or they do not know how to use online shopping.

While he could have reopened when state health restrictions loosened, Ruiz said he will continue to remain closed for the time being to protect his customers. Bingo events are still canceled and most of the customer base is older and more vulnerable to the virus.

“In the meantime, I think I’m just going to stay working, doing catering outside or doing the Instacart,” Ruiz said. “But for now, I rather to not put nobody at risk.”

Leah Romero is a fellow with the New Mexico Local News Fund and can be reached at lromero@lcsun-news.com or @rromero_leah on Twitter.