Santa Fe is still awash in fall colors and days are still warm and sunny. It’s a great time to visit, quieter than summer, cooler and there’s still lots to do. Here are a few of this week’s tidbits.
Adieu:
Santa Fe’s O’Keeffe Café, adjacent to the museum that bears the great American artist’s name, is no more. The small eatery, run by Michael O’Reilly since 2002, was known for its excellent wine selection by the glass as well as by the bottle. O’Reilly sites declining business due to the current economy as reason for the closing. His other restaurant, the more moderately-priced Pranzo Italian Grill is doing well.
The O'Keeffe Cafe closed its doors on 10/16, photo/courtesy O'Keeffe Cafe
Chimayó is losing a casual dining institution. Léona’s Restaurante, opened in 1977, served its last tamale Sunday. The eatery, which has been located next to El Santuario de Chimayó since 1988, was a popular stop for visitors to the church year-round, especially during the annual pre-Easter pilgrimage. They were also known for burritos, Frito Pies and other New Mexican specialties. Their chile was so popular, they began jarring it. It’s now done by a commercial facility in Santa Fe and you can get it shipped to you anywhere in the US. Léona’s isn’t closing altogether; they’ll still serve coffee, soft drinks and their famous bizcochitos, the New Mexico State Cookie. You can still buy the jarred chile, dried chile, sopaipilla mixes, posole, mini ristras and other Northern New Mexico items.
Halloween:
Santa Fe is a city of ghosts and spirits. It’s kind of like Halloween all year. With strong Mexican influence, it’s not surprising that El Dia de los Muertos as a strong presence here alongside the more common All Hallows Eve. Here are a few upcoming events.
Check out The Portal of Fear. The holiday haunted house is sponsored by a few local businesses. You can get the pants scared off you ($7 per person) from Thursday, October 27th through Monday, October 31st. All proceeds go to charity. The scary portal is at the Coronado Shopping Center at 525 W. Cordova Road. Check the website for times, which vary.
There’s a Dia de los Muertos procession at the Railyard Friday, October 29th. The parade starts at Sambusco Center at 6:00pm. The route winds through the Railyard and ending up at El Museo del Cultural. Dress as your favorite skeleton and join the fun.
Ride on of the The Santa Fe Southern Railway's Halloween trains, photo/Steve Collins
The vintage Santa Fe Southern Railway loves holiday trains and the October celebration is no exception. They are running three Halloween-themed trains.
On Monday, October 31st at 7pm, the Lensic Performing Arts Center has its own scary Halloween planned. They’re screening director Sam Raimi’s 1987 cult-classic, The Evil Dead 2, Dead by Dawn, sequel to his 1981 film, The Evil Dead
Art:
The fall edition of the semi-annual Santa Fe Studio Tour takes place on Saturday November 12th and Sunday, November 13th. Work from 28 artists will be displayed at 15 studios around The City Different. Hours are 10am to 5pm on Saturday and noon to 5pm on Sunday. Click here for a map.
"Garden Swan" an enhanced photo by Dave Robinson will be on display at the Santa Fe Studio Tour Photo/courtesy Dave Robinson
If you have any Santa Fe news to share with us, we’d love to hear it.
If you love the supernatural, meet Santa Fe’s three famous women ghosts; La Llorona who walks by the river, Sister George the cigar smoking nun and the elegant Julia Staab.
The train ride would be cool..
Cheers..
It’s fun and you get great mountain views when you get out of town.
So sad to hear about the closing of the O’Keeffe Cafe. A little over a year ago we had our rehearsal dinner there for our destination wedding followed by an amazing dessert reception (desserts were prepared by the Chef from the Cafe) for all of our wedding guests on the patio outside of the O’Keeffe Museum. The food was outstanding. It was one of the highlights of our wedding weekend. I had lived in New Mexico about ten years ago which is why we chose to have our wedding in Santa Fe. Most of our guests were from the eastern US. Our event at the O’Keeffe Cafe and the Museum was a spectacular kick off and welcome to NM for our guests. The staff at the O’Keeffe Cafe could not have been more accommodating. I am so sad that my husband and I will not be able to visit this restaurant on our trips back to Santa Fe. We will certainly keep an eye out for Michael O’Reilly and the O’Keeffe Cafe staff at other restaurants in town. Thanks for the great food and memories – you will be missed!
Thanks for sharing your special experience. I don’t know if this helps, but there’s a good chance that a restaurant will go into that space. The museum owns the building and has had others running the restaurant before. Michael O’;Reilly owns Pramzoo, an Italian restaurant in the Sanbusco Center at the north end of the Railyard District.