By Ron Davis – Reporter, Albuquerque Business First
Albuquerque residents are set to get a third Monroe’s restaurant later this year.
The well-known Duke City establishment recently broke ground on its third location at 1025 4th St. NW. Monroe’s posted a few teaser photos on its Instagram account earlier this week, hinting at the expansion.
“There’s a new Monroe’s breaking ground somewhere in Albuquerque today!” the caption read.
Matthew Diaz, Monroe’s general manager, confirmed his restaurant’s new location with Business First on Thursday.
Diaz said Monroe’s other locations have been “busy” as of late and he wanted to capitalize on more business in the Downtown area as reasons for expansion. Diaz said the hope is for the new restaurant to be in operation around November. Upon completion, Diaz said Monroe’s will grow from 55 employees to about 70 across the three locations.
The restaurant also operates at 1520 Lomas Blvd. NW and 6051 Osuna Road NE in Albuquerque, according to its website. This will be the restaurant’s first expansion in over 30 years after it was established in 1962. Monroe’s, a family-owned restaurant, has grown conservatively over the years, Diaz said. It also considered Bernalillo and Albuquerque’s Westside for the new expansion.
According to city permits, Monroe’s will occupy 5,645 square feet at its new location. New Mexico-based companies, Lone Sun Builders Inc. and Aria Studio Consultants Inc., are the project’s general contractor and architect, respectfully, Diaz said.
The restaurant industry in New Mexico represented 11 percent of employment in the state in 2017, with over 90,000 employees at more than 3,200 locations, according to the New Mexico Restaurant Association. New Mexico restaurant sales in 2017 were estimated to be $3.4 billion. The number of restaurant jobs within the state is expected to increase 9.3 percent by 2027, according to previous Business First reporting.