Frontier Restaurant Explained

Frontier Restaurant
Established:1971
Dress-Code:Casual
Street-Address:2400 Central Ave SE
City:Albuquerque
State:New Mexico
Zip:87106
Country:United States
Seating-Capacity:326[1]

Frontier Restaurant is a landmark New Mexican cuisine restaurant, located near the main campus of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico.[2] [3] [4] It is one of the city's most popular restaurants, serving about 4,000 customers per day in 2000,[5] and is open daily from 5 am to 12 am. The restaurant has five dining rooms covering a total of 8000ft2[1] and is decorated with over 100 Western-themed artworks, including several portraits of John Wayne, referencing the nickname that both he and the city of Albuquerque share, “The Duke” and “The Duke City”.[6] [7]

History

Frontier Restaurant was established in 1971 by Dorothy and Larry Rainosek, who had recently moved to Albuquerque from Austin, Texas. Hoping to attract college students, they leased a barn-shaped building on Central Avenue across from the University of New Mexico, which had previously housed a short-lived restaurant called the Country Barn. Earlier, the corner had also been the site of a famous soda fountain called Chisholm's.[4] [8] The Frontier opened on February 10 with just 15 menu items and five employees.[1] [9]

Initially, the restaurant served breakfast, hamburgers, sandwiches, and some Tex-Mex foods like enchiladas. After customer requests, they began to incorporate New Mexican cuisine into the menu by the end of 1971.[10] [11] By 1989, the Frontier had expanded into the adjoining buildings on the block for a total of five dining rooms and 8000ft2 of space.[1] The restaurant was open 24 hours a day in the early 1990s but was forced to cut back its hours in 2006 after repeated problems with unruly patrons.[12]

Menu

The Frontier serves primarily New Mexican cuisine along with American diner fare, like sandwiches, hamburgers, and breakfast plates. Some of the best-known menu items include sweet rolls, green chile cheeseburgers, green chile stew, carne adovada, and breakfast burritos.[13] [14] [15] [16] [17] The restaurant also sells some bulk items including tortillas, chile, carne adovada, posole, green chile stew, and sweet rolls.[18]

Notes and References

  1. News: Logan . Paul . Frontier Restaurant: A Special Place . May 17, 2019 . Albuquerque Journal . January 16, 1989 . Newspapers.com.
  2. Book: Becca . Blond . Josh . Krist . Jennifer . Denniston . Wendy . Yanagihara . Lonely Planet Arizona, New Mexico & the Grand Canyon Trips . 2010 . Lonely Planet . 978-1-74220-393-5 . 247ff.
  3. Book: Fodor's . Fodor's In Focus Santa Fe: with Taos and Albuquerque . 2014 . Fodor's Travel Publications . 978-0-8041-4237-3 . 302ff.
  4. Book: Carleen . Lazell . Melissa . Payne . Historic Albuquerque: An Illustrated History . 2007 . HPN Books . 978-1-893619-75-3 . 62ff.
  5. News: Pentz . Michelle . Villegas tames the Frontier . May 21, 2019 . Albuquerque Journal . October 9, 2000.
  6. News: Steinberg . David . Enjoy Frontier's artworks with that late-night burrito . May 14, 2019 . Albuquerque Journal . December 23, 2007 . Newspapers.com.
  7. News: By the numbers: Frontier Restaurant . May 14, 2019 . Albuquerque Journal . June 9, 2014 . Newspapers.com.
  8. News: Chisholm's . May 18, 2019 . Albuquerque Journal . Advertisement . December 24, 1949 . Newspapers.com.
  9. Westman . Steven J. . A Frontier All Its Own . . February–March 2013 . 8 . 5 . 12–15 . May 17, 2019.
  10. News: Gray . Autumn . One-on-One with Dorothy Rainosek . May 18, 2019 . Albuquerque Journal . October 26, 2009 . Newspapers.com.
  11. Book: Feucht, Andrea . Food Lovers' Guide to Santa Fe, Albuquerque & Taos: The Best Restaurants, Markets & Local Culinary Offerings . 2012 . Globe Pequot . 978-0-7627-9053-1 . 138ff.
  12. News: Stiger . Susan . Frontier's Days Are Getting Shorter . May 18, 2019 . Albuquerque Journal . October 26, 2006.
  13. Book: Nye, Valerie . Barco . Kathy . Breakfast New Mexico Style . Sunstone Press . 2009 . 978-0-86534-716-8 . 36–37.
  14. Web site: Neil Patrick Harris Talks about Hosting the Oscars, Where His Zia Tattoo is, and Frontier Burritos . NewsCastic . October 16, 2014 . 2015-04-24.
  15. Host: Adam Richman . 2011 . Travis on a Silver Platter . . Television.
  16. Web site: Gil . Garduño . The Frontier Restaurant — Albuquerque, New Mexico . Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog . June 22, 2012 . 2015-04-24.
  17. Web site: 36 Hours in Albuquerque . O’Neill . Zora . October 20, 2011 . . 2015-04-24.
  18. Web site: Frontier Restaurant Menu . FrontierRestaurant.com . Frontier Restaurant . 2015-04-24.

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