Church Street Cafe

The oldest home in Albuquerque passed from one family to another 18 years ago and is now an architectural landmark and home of wonderful Northern New Mexico Cuisine.

The Church Street Cafe, formerly the home of the Ruiz family, is nestled in the heart of Old Town Albuquerque behind the San Felipe de Neri church. The restaurant is known for good food and reasonable prices in an interesting setting. A plate of Carne Adovada and eggs will run $8.95. A serving of huevos rancheros is $6.95. Handmade tamales cost  $11.95 per plate.

The Casa de Ruiz was built in the early 1700s and remained a family home for the Ruiz family until 91-year-old Rufina G. Ruiz died in 1991. Shortly thereafter, Maria Coleman, age 22 at the time, saw the house and knew she had to buy it. Her mother helped find a contractor and is now helping in the restaurant, and her aunt Reina Jaramillo taught her the restaurant business, so the home is once again part of a new family legacy.

"It was in shambles," her mother Rita Coleman said about when she first saw the home. "That wall was about to cave in... but Maria fell in love with the old house."
 
The house still has the original layout, but it is converted to dining space. The entryway is the old living room. Through the living room are the two bedrooms. To the left is the old dining room, and behind that, the large old kitchen area divided into cooking space and additional dining area. The only new part of the home is the patio room that was completed last year and has room for about 70 people to eat. Artifacts from the original owners, and Jaramillo's art collection adorn the walls. In one cubby a newspaper dated July 26, 1937 and a child's tattered shoe. Old family photos are hung in every room -- including a photo of the reported ghost Sara Ruiz.
 
Sara Ruiz is reported to have visited the contractor, Charlie, while he was designing the remodeling job at 3 am. When Maria arrived in the morning, Charlie asked her to tell Sara to stop banging those pots so he could concentrate better. Maria Coleman went and had a talk with Sara and told her that if she wants her house to look very pretty, she was going to have to stop making that racket -- and she did.  The question still exists about whether Sara really did come visit to welcome the new family, but Rita Coleman's answer is "That is just Charlie. He believes in all that stuff."

For a taste of history and of Northern New Mexico Cuisine, the Church Street Cafe is open Monday through Saturday from 8 am to 9 pm, and on Sunday from 8 am to 4 pm.

- by Julie Medina, Albuquerque Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Julie Medina

Julie Medina has experience as a reporter at the Albuquerque Journal and has written freelance articles for the Albuquerque Tribune, Albuquerque the Magazine, New Mexico Magazine and New Mexico Kids Magazine. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in print journalism from the University of New Mexico in 2008. She has lived in Albuquerque since 1984 and believes it is best to remember to play like a tourist in your own hometown so you don't forget the vast culture around you.