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High profile business news last week caused many doomsayers in Nob Hill to pronounce the end of the neighborhood as we know it.
Venerable Irish pub O’Niell’s announced it was closing its doors after more than 30 years. Within 24 hours of that shocking announcement came news that nearby pizza joint Slice Parlor and UNM-adjacent wine bar/charcuterie shop Salt and Board were following suit.
Although located outside of Nob Hill, longtime Downtown restaurant MÁS Tapas y Vino inside Hotel Andaluz also declared on social media that, “The time has come for us to close our doors.” Combined with lingering rumors about the sale/closure of Downtown’s Marble Brewery, this caused local keyboard pundits to flood Facebook, Reddit and other chat spots saying that business around Central Avenue was dying a quick and painful death — a perennial pronouncement that has plagued the region since at least the early ’80s.
This editorial was originally intended to be a sort of “obituary” for a handful of beloved Albuquerque restaurants: reminiscing about grabbing a pizza and a beer at Slice before catching a movie at The Guild, knocking back a few pints during Geeks Who Drink trivia at O’Niell’s. But with the swirling speculation growing, it has evolved into something closer to an autopsy.
The loss of institutional eateries can certainly be a bellwether for a city’s economic well being. What caused these businesses to fail in such rapid succession, many are wondering. A lot of Albuquerque residents were quick to assign blame: Mayor Tim Keller’s “liberal” policies, the continuing bugaboo of the ART project, the lingering effects of the COVID lockdown and, most prominently, Albuquerque’s rising homeless population.
It’s clear to anyone who drives Central that Albuquerque’s unhoused population has grown exponentially in the wake of COVID. The closure of Walmart and Walgreens on Central Avenue and San Mateo Boulevard, combined with sensational news stories about street corner panhandlers in local media have certainly played into the “homeless are destroying Albuquerque” narrative.
But is Albuquerque’s ever-increasing unhoused population at the root of Nob Hill’s business woes? Most Albuquerque residents who pay attention know that the unhoused populations are more heavily concentrated further up Central Avenue and Zuni Road toward Wyoming Boulevard. While that area east of the International District has seen problems, including fires at businesses started by homeless encampments, Nob Hill remains a popular commuter neighborhood with far less homelessness in evidence.
O’Niell’s, the grandfather of Albuquerque’s Irish pubs, opened in 1994 in the heart of Nob Hill. In 2006, after a dispute with their landlord, O’Niell’s packed it in and eventually moved east on Central. A second location opened up on Juan Tabo Boulevard in 2010. The business seemed, at least on the surface, to be thriving. But the only official word, accompanying the final closing date of Nov. 3, was a statement from the owners that, “Due to multiple determining factors, it has been impossible for us to keep the O’Niell’s in Nob Hill open.”
This past week, patrons crowded the Nob Hill location, singing the pub’s praises and draining the only remaining tap. Online, multiple Albuquerque residents had expressed a desire to visit the location one last time, something many confessed they hadn’t done in years. Most seemed oblivious to the fact that a lack of regular patronage certainly didn’t help O’Niell’s bottom line. Nonetheless, they packed into the place for a bit of “too little, too late” celebrating.
Further west down Central, the closures of Slice Parlor and Salt and Board become slightly less baffling as well when you realize both are owned by restaurateurs Adam Moffet and Doug Crowder. No doubt, the problems facing small business owners are legion. But perhaps the prevailing problem simply boils down to profit and loss. Both Slice and O’Niell’s maintain locations in the Northeast Heights. At this time, neither of those locations seems in danger of closing, and the owners hope patrons will fill seats at those alternate locations.
Which brings us back to the question of Nob Hill. If the current Nob Hill environment is so seedy, rundown and hostile toward the operation of an Irish pub (to paraphrase some of the internet chatter), why are Two Fools and Quarter Celtic flourishing mere blocks away? To be fair, owners Rob and April O’Niell spoke to KRQE-13 news and explicitly said that homelessness was definitely not one of the reasons for the closure.
Elsewhere in Nob Hill, M’Tucci’s Bar Roma and their speakeasy bar Teddy Roe’s have wait lists to get in many nights of the week. Michael Thomas Coffee Roaster, nearly a year after closing its flagship location on Carlisle Avenue, is preparing to open in a new Central location. Island Vibes, a new Jamaican restaurant, just opened in a space in front of Ta Lin World Market. The Vietnamese Restaurant Coda Bakery celebrated a grand opening for its new, expanded relocation at 201 San Pedro Dr. SE. And in the same announcement concerning its closure, MÁS vowed to reopen soon with a “new concept.”
Old restaurants close. New restaurants open. It’s the way of things. And maybe it’s less of a reason to despair and more of a reason to hope.