La Nueva Casita gets beer-and-wine approval under new ownership
Las Cruces approved a beer-and-wine license for La Nueva Casita Cafe, where new owner Israel Chávez says the goal is to preserve the longtime Mesquite Street restaurant.
The longtime Mesquite Street restaurant, operating since 1957, says the new license is part of keeping the Las Cruces institution going under owner Israel Chávez
Damien Willis, Organ Mountain News
LAS CRUCES - La Nueva Casita Cafe, a fixture in Las Cruces’ historic Mesquite neighborhood since 1957, has cleared another step under new ownership after City Council unanimously approved a beer-and-wine liquor license Monday.
The restaurant at 195 N. Mesquite St. is now owned by Israel Chávez, who told council the business employs about 18 people, nearly all full time. Many, he said, have worked there for five to 10 years.
Chávez said the restaurant has tried to preserve what has made La Nueva Casita a longtime Las Cruces institution and that adding beer and wine is part of keeping the business operating.
“We’ve maintained something that has been there for a very long time,” Chávez told council.
La Nueva Casita traces its history to 1957, when it opened as La Casita Cafe. The restaurant says it was renamed La Nueva Casita Cafe in the 1990s and describes itself as the oldest restaurant in Las Cruces still operating in the same location.
The business sits at the corner of Mesquite Street and Organ Avenue, across from Klein Park in the historic Mesquite neighborhood.
Beer and wine added to a longtime menu
The city approved a Restaurant A liquor license allowing beer and wine for on-premise consumption and patio service.
The New Mexico Alcoholic Beverage Control Division gave the application preliminary approval July 6, and city staff said no reviewing agencies identified problems with the request.
Chávez told council the state licensing process was already underway and described Monday’s hearing as what he believed would be the final local step before the application continues through state review.
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Support Organ Mountain NewsMayor Pro Tem John Muñoz welcomed continued investment in one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods and joked that the restaurant’s Estrella tacos are his favorite.
Council approved Resolution 27-031 by a 6-0 vote. Mayor Eric Enriquez was absent.
The city will now notify the state of its vote, allowing the liquor-license application to continue through the remaining Alcoholic Beverage Control process.
Damien Willis is founder and editor of Organ Mountain News. If you have a personal story to share or a lead we should follow up on, reach out at OrganMountainNews@gmail.com or connect with him on X at @damienwillis.
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