Locally-owned restaurant, The Chile Pod, not only survives downtown reconstruction, but the COVID-19 pandemic as well.
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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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