CORNUDAS, Texas — Almost 100 miles between Carlsbad and Las Cruces on U.S. Highway 62/180 a sign boasts “Best burgers in Cornudas.” It sits in front of the Cornudas Cafe, where inside a sign hangs in front of the cashier and notes the population of Cornudas as “5 or 6” people.
Cornudas Cafe is a familiar sight to drivers traveling between El Paso, Texas and Carlsbad, New Mexico. A blink-and-you’ll-miss-it location miles from a gas station, the land line inside the restaurant is more reliable than the cellular coverage.
Jeff Campbell, who took over the cafe in May, told the Carlsbad Current-Argus that he wished to honor the memory of his grandmother, May Carson.
In the midst of a global pandemic that forced the closure of in-door dining, Campbell decided to use the time to upgrade the restaurant. After four months of construction, the location was reopened to the public.
Campbell grew up helping his grandmother and wanted to keep the old-school diner vibe when making the updates. There aren’t any televisions on the walls and no WiFi hotspots. The menu doesn’t offer options with kale. Instead, the walls are covered with license plates, cell phone reception is spotty at best and the menu is still hand-written on brown paper bags like May used to do in the 1980s.
“When my grandmother and mom started this restaurant they had $12 left over. The bags were all they had so they wrote the menu on these bags and it’s just stuck. I was going to do print menus when we reopened but everybody was asking me to keep the menus. So I felt compelled to keep them,” Campbell said.
He subcontracted the menu writing to the art students in Dell City, a small town located about 30 miles from Cornudas.
The building was built in 1929 and when his grandmother bought the place in 1980 she became the third owner. She sold it in 2005 for $1.3 million to a developer from Florida who planned to build a Western resort or theme town.
That didn’t work out and after a few more changes in ownership, Campbell took over and began remodeling in June. Work finished in September.
“I decided to remodel it because the ceiling was falling in and was dramatically bowed. The ceiling fans were scraping the ceiling when they would spin,” Campbell said. “I thought this was a great time with business slowing (to do the updates). This place was just in really bad shape before.”
Insulation was installed, electric and plumbing updates were made, and windows from the kitchen to the dining room created an open atmosphere. The interior ceiling also was raised, making the space feel larger. The remodel cost about $130,000.
“We had a lot of issues with code compliance with the (New Mexico) Health Department that we were grandfathered in,” Jeff said. “We got everything up to code now. I needed everything to look like a respectable business. I wanted to keep the character of the building and not change that too much.”
Debbie Knight, Campbell’s aunt, worked at the restaurant for the last 12 years. Knight began helping years ago when the cafe would host chili cookoffs. Originally from Bakersfield, California, Knight suffered from culture shock when she first arrived.
“I came from a place where I was 45 minutes from everything — the mountains, the beach, whatever — and now I’m an hour from anything,” Knight said.
“My dogs thought this was the vacation from hell because their water kept freezing in the morning and everything out here bites, pinches or stabs. I don’t care if it’s a bug, a bush or a plant. I’ve alone killed 38 rattlesnakes since I’ve moved out here.”
Knight grew to appreciate the area and to love the cafe, which she said serves many purposes other than just a place to grab a quick meal while driving between New Mexico and Texas. A freezer stocked with frozen treats and a wall full of anything a traveler needs gives the cafe a convenience store feel. She also loves that it serves as a family-swapping place.
“We’ll get families that come here every other week and swap their kids here,” Knight said. “They’ve done it for years. I’ve seen these kids from when they were in first grade to when they graduate high school.
“One time this lady came in with her son and her son, who is in his 20s, says ‘Mom aren’t we related to these people (the workers at the restaurant)?’ The mom says ‘No honey. We just came here every two weeks.'”
Knight said she looks forward to those new customers who walk, each with a unique story. She’s especially glad the look of the restaurant hasn’t changed much.
“My mother never wanted to change the place,” Knight said. “She just wanted the nostalgia of the place. It’s always served food even when it was a tent. It’s always been here and it’s a landmark.
“It’s a quirky little thing and you don’t want to change it too much. Mom would have been thrilled with the upgrades because (Jeff) didn’t take the nostalgia away.”
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