New fund supports Las Cruces restaurants, provides free meals to residents
Las Cruces resident Jose “Rooster” Gurrola hands free enchilada plates to a family on Tuesday, April 28, 2020, at La Nueva Casita Cafe. [Bethany Freudenthal / Las Cruces Sun-News]
LAS CRUCES - What started as an idea for helping Las Cruces restaurants survive during the COVID-19 pandemic materialized Tuesday morning with several cars lined up to receive free enchilada plates in the parking lot behind La Nueva Casita Café.
The popular restaurant, at 195 S. Mesquite St. in the city’s Historic Mesquite District, was the first recipient of a $1,000 grant from the new Thank You Las Cruces Restaurant Fund. The fund was established by anonymous donors in Las Cruces who wanted to do their part to ensure local restaurants were able to endure the restrictions placed upon them during the statewide stay-at-home orders designed to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 disease. The current restrictions allow restaurants to operate only in drive-thru, to-go, curbside or carry-out capacities.
To accomplish this, the initial donors decided to provide local restaurants with a $1,000 grant. The funds are used to support the restaurant in providing at least 100 free meals to residents in need. The meals can be dropped off at a designated location or given to individuals through curbside pickup.
Free enchilada plates served Las Cruces residents in need on Tuesday, April 28, 2020, at La Casita Nueva Café. [Bethany Freudenthal / Las Cruces Sun-News]
Enchiladas to go
From its food trailer — and with a white, pop-up tent set up in the restaurant’s back parking lot — employees of La Nueva Casita Café handed out 125 enchilada plates to residents in need. Each meal included three rolled red chile and cheese enchiladas, refried beans, rice and garnish. Beginning at 11 a.m., the operation ran like a well-oiled machine.
By 12:20 p.m., they had run out.
As host of the city’s first TYLCR Fund event, the restaurant relied primarily on its Facebook page to get the word out. Servers Jose Gurrola — known to friends and coworkers as “Rooster” — and Leslie Paredes handed out the meals, smiling behind face masks, as cars pulled up in front of the tent. A steady stream of enchiladas were being passed through the window of the restaurant’s catering trailer to meet the demand.
Las Cruces resident Dianne Gurule-Bartholf said she learned of the event when her sister sent her a link on Facebook.
Las Cruces resident Dianne Gurule-Bartholf receives a free enchilada plate from La Nueva Casita Café on Tuesday, April 28, 2020. [Bethany Freudenthal / Las Cruces Sun-News]
“We’ve been coming here for quite a long time. My parents absolutely love this place,” Gurule-Bartholf told the Sun-News. She said she has been eating at La Nueva Casita Café regularly since moving back to Las Cruces from Denver about four years ago. She said she felt “blessed” Tuesday’s event.
“It’s helping the community,” she said. “It’s helping people who need the help.”
Christina Martinez of Las Cruces spoke to the Sun-News shortly after receiving her enchilada plate. Like Gurule-Bartholf, she also heard about Tuesday’s event through Facebook.
“I think it’s great that they’re giving back to the community. That means a lot,” Martinez said. “It really shows what kind of business they are, and that they care about their community. I think it’s awesome that they’re doing this.”
Cooks at La Nueva Casita Café, at 195 N. Mesquite St. in Las Cruces, serve the community free enchilada plates from the restaurant's food truck, Tuesday, April 28, 2020. The three agreed that they were doing this as a service to God. [Bethany Freudenthal / Las Cruces Sun-News]
‘A heart for the community’
Owner Melissa Salazar said the restaurant was first approached by one of the fund’s anonymous donors who was looking for a way to help.
“We were approached by somebody who comes pretty often to the restaurant,” she explained. “We know them pretty well, and they have a good heart — a heart for the community. They had wanted to help us, as well handing out plates to members of the community who might be struggling during these hard times.”
Salazar said the line of cars began forming shortly before the scheduled 11 a.m. start, so they began serving ahead of plan. Ordinarily, La Nueva Casita would be closed on a Tuesday. The TYLCR Fund grant allowed the restaurant to make a little money instead, while supporting the community, Salazar said.
“It definitely helps us a lot,” she said. “Anything helps right now.”
Salazar said she and her staff remain grateful for their loyal customers who have continued to support the restaurant throughout the years.
“We know what it’s like to struggle,” Salazar said. “We started from the very bottom and worked our way up. We thank God that we can be in a position now to help others, as well.”
Just before noon, a line formed behind La Nueva Casita Café, at 195 N. Mesquite St. in Las Cruces, as residents wait for free enchilada plates. [Bethany Freudenthal / Las Cruces Sun-News]
Getting involved
La Nueva Casita is working to finalize the details for a second distribution event next Tuesday, May 5. Details will be posted on the restaurant’s Facebook page in the coming days, Gurrola confirmed.
Habanero’s Fresh Mex, at 600 E. Amador Ave., has also received a grant from the TYLCR Fund. According to Chef Alfredo Felix, the restaurant plans to host a distribution event beginning at 11 a.m. on Thursday, May 7.
Organizers hope the project will be able to continue through community support.
The fund, which is being administered through the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico, is accepting donations through the foundation’s website at www.cfsnm.org. To donate, click on the “Thank You Las Cruces Restaurants” banner at the top of the page. Donations can also be made directly, HERE.
New donors to the fund will be able to nominate up to three of their favorite restaurants to be eligible to receive the grant funding, according to Jordan Allen, the foundation’s director of impact and outreach. The CFSNM team, along with a committee of volunteers, will work with nominees to ensure meals can be provided to at least 100 recipients and that the $1,000 would be of benefit to the restaurant. To nominate a restaurant or restaurants with your nomination, include the information in the “tribute information” when submitting your online donation. Donations can also be made in honor or memory of someone.
Those with further questions are asked to contact Allen directly at jordan@cfsnm.org.
Leslie Paredes helps serve the community free enchilada plates at La Nueva Casita Café on Tuesday, April 28, 2020. [Bethany Freudenthal / Las Cruces Sun-News]
Together Las Cruces
Another way to help is the Together Las Cruces Fund, also administered through the CFSNM. That fund is designated to assist residents who have experienced a significant loss of income amid the COVID-19 pandemic. To launch the fund, local businesses and donors committed an initial $125,000. Funds are awarded in the amount of $100 to $500, based on the applicants' needs.
To date, donations amounting to $404,624 have been collected from more than 110 donors — including $150,000 authorized by the Las Cruces City Council in connection to an emergency proclamation by Mayor Ken Miyagishima on April 10.
Applications for Together Las Cruces are currently closed. But donations are still being accepted. To donate, visit https://www.communityfoundationofsouthernnewmexico.com/together-las-cruces/.
Damien Willis is a Lead Reporter for the Las Cruces Sun-News. He can be reached at 575-541-5443, dwillis@lcsun-news.com or @DamienWillis on Twitter.
This story originally appeared in the Las Cruces Sun-News on April 28, 2020.
