Albuquerque / New Mexico / United States
Range Caf was started by Matt DiGregory and Tom Fenton, two guys who worked at some of the best restaurants in the Albuquerque area during the 1980s. In early 1992, Matt stumbled across a great old, adobe building and knew it would make a great restaurant. All he needed was a chef and some money. While discussing the proposition at work later that day, Tom overheard him and said "I can get some money." Matt responded, "Want to open a restaurant?" Tom had the cooking background and Matt was a pastry chef and front of the house manager; an eclectic pair destined to become restaurateurs. Range Caf debuted in September of 1992 in a funky, old adobe building at 681 Camino del Pueblo, on main street in Bernalillo. The locals anxiously awaited to see what two gringos had up their sleeves. That first day was so busy that the restaurant ran out of food and could not open for dinner. It took about a month before things settled into a groove and confidence was built enough to tackle the evening shift. Before long, people spread the word about this great little place in Bernalillo serving ordinary food made extraordinarily well. Unfortunately, a fire destroyed the entire place in 1995. Range Caf was now homeless. What happened over the next two months is a tribute to the kindness of the people who were considered Range Family Almost immediately people came to help clean up the smoke damaged furnishings. Food was delivered to those who came to help. Offers poured in for anything and everything that could be considered help. A benefit was organized to help rebuild The Range. It was a movable feast sponsored by three local bed and breakfasts. Hors deurves were served at Hacienda Placitas, dinner at Hacienda Grande and dessert at Hacienda Vargas. There was an art auction with art donated by local artists, whose art still adorn the walls at The Range. Hundreds of people showed up and when it was through over ten thousand dollars was raised. Although the amount was nowhere near what was necessary to rebuild, the confidence it gave to go on was priceless. The next challenge was, where does The Range go from here? The search began again for a new location. One day, Antoinette Silva asked if The Range would go look at the old soda fountain her and her sister Rose were thinking about renting. At first it was thought she meant just the soda fountain located inside their grocery store. Then after looking at the space it was realized it was not just the soda fountain, but the hardware store, grocery store, drug store and auto parts store their family had run since the 1960s.
