New Mexican Restaurant Outlasts Pandemic

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A local chile champion

survived not only the pandemic

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but last year's reconstruction

of downtown Farmington

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through her determined

use of social media.

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You're watching the Local News Network,

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brought to you by Fast Signs of Durango.

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I'm Wendy Graham Settle.

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Tough-minded and strategic Monica Shultz,

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owner of The Chile Pod

restaurant on West Main Street,

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will mark the restaurant's

5-year anniversary on March 3rd.

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Hard to believe that it was just last May

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when she called in 17 of her 21 workers

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and gave them each their

last check and a letter

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to take to the unemployment office.

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She also gave employees

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who would have trouble

supporting their families

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20 pounds of meat from the kitchen,

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and then, she went back to work.

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But we've tried to tackle every hurdle,

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starting with the construction,

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with just a positive attitude,

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because what else are we going to do.

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We have no means to control that

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or the pandemic, so we just,

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I just advertised as much as I could.

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Daily, I'd get up every morning at 4:00 AM

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and I would just post every day.

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A lot of our business is a direct result

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of our social media.

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So we just, you know, advertise.

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We're very fortunate because

the city of Farmington,

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even though they were doing

this road construction,

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they also asked all their employees

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to support downtown and

were advertising as well.

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We did have a lot of support

from city government.

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What makes it all worth it for Schultz

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is working with her mother,

sister, and daughter,

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because most of the restaurant's recipes

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were staples in her household,

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growing up in Cuba, New Mexico.

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Then the red chile recipe

is what I was raised on.

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I might've added my own touch to it.

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We have a running joke in our family

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that I learned from the best,

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but I taught 'em the rest, cause I have,

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there's a little trick

that I do to my red chile.

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But honestly, really, it

came from my mom and dad.

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It's won People's Choice

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at the local chile cook-off

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four years in a row.

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Durango's Mac and Cheese Challenge

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voted hers the best twice in a row.

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The popular red chile macaroni

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with a chicharrone crumble, in fact,

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inspired her to open The Chile Pod.

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With a 4.6 rating on Yelp,

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words like awesome, tasty,

and authentic pop-up.

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But for Sarah S. from Texas,

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the food had a more profound effect,

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calling the red chile life-changing,

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life-affirming, and life-giving.

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Now, that's a good review.

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Like the other restaurants in town,

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she missed reopening The

Chile Pod for indoor seating

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when San Juan County positivity rates

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for COVID were 5.01%.

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The threshold for opening was 5%.

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But with the Main Street

construction finished,

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it won't be long before things are back

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to their customary busy-ness.

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Despite all the hurdles, she's grateful.

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We appreciate everybody's support.

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We've been supported by a lot of people.

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A lot of locals really have,

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we're getting to know their names.

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We got to see 'em a lot

more on a personal level

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now with a lot of the to-gos,

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so that's been really nice.

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We're just really grateful

that we're still here,

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almost one year later.

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I think we're about a

month short of a year.

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The first shutdown was March 14

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or something to that effect.

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We're just happy we're here.

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We're grateful.

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We look forward to serving

everybody in the future,

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and we appreciate if everybody

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come get their crave on

here at The Chile Pod.

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Located at 121 West Main Street,

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The Chile Pod is open

from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM,

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Monday through Friday.

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To see a menu or place a takeout order,

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go to cravethechilepod.com.

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Thank you for watching this edition

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of the Local News Network,

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brought to you by Fast Signs.

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I'm Wendy Graham Settle.

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