Here is why Papa Jose's in Pueblo is closing its doors in mid-March

Jan. 24—After 23 years on Union Avenue, Papa Jose's Union Café will close its doors in mid-March.

Owner Mike Pacheco, who started the restaurant at 320 S. Union Ave., with his mom the late Elisa Pennington, hopes all customers with gift certificates will take the time to stop in and have the restaurant's signature Taco Colorado, green chile, enchiladas or taco salads before the café closing which is tentatively set for March 19.

A combination of circumstances led Pacheco and his partner Luis "Danny" Montes to make the decision to close the restaurant. The circumstances involved the sale of the building that houses the restaurant and a plethora of COVID-19 related impacts.

Montes has plans to carry on with the café's signature dishes in a downsized format, running a strictly carry out business kind of like a "Burrito Betty's" type of place, Pacheco said.

"The food will carry on and he's got all the recipes perfected," Pacheco said.

"The building we are in was sold to a new owner. We have been with the same owner the past 23 years, so we got kind of complacent about having a good, solid lease," Pacheco said.

"The new owner and I went into negotiations for a new lease amount, but we just could not come to an acceptable agreement. He needed to make money, I needed to make money and we just couldn't find common ground."

The pending loss of the location they had been in since September 1998 prompted Pacheco and Montes to look elsewhere for a possible new site.

"We looked at several locations here in town and there was nothing directly compatible. They were either too big or too small or needed too much work," Pacheco said.

Pacheco said if the lease issue had come up a year ago, there were probably a half-dozen suitable properties he could have looked into using at that time.

"I am 63 years old so whatever money we would put into a new location I didn't see a way to amortize that by the time I am ready to retire in three or four years.," he said.

The pandemic played a factor as well.

While the city, state and federal governments all helped at the beginning stages of the pandemic, recent pandemic-related hurdles have been tough to overcome.

"Food costs are really outrageous, getting supplies is difficult and staffing is incredibly difficult right now," Pacheco said. "So the pandemic and our current situation certainly played a role in our decision."

As for Pacheco, who left a job with the telephone company to start the restaurant with his mom, his plans are to pursue other options.

"I have 23 years experience (in) management and restaurant experience so there has got to be something out there I can do. I am sure there is something bright on my horizon," he said.

In the meantime, he is looking forward to finishing out the Papa Jose's chapter of his life and have one last chat with customers who have become his friends over the years.

"Our liquor license will expire the last day of February. We are shooting for March 19 to be the last day or sometime around mid-March," Pacheco said.

"We have to be completely out of the building by March 31."

The restaurant hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday until the closing.

"Danny's going to carry the food on and I am sure things will go well for him. He's a hard worker," Pacheco said.

Chieftain reporter Tracy Harmon covers business news. She can be reached by email at tharmon@chieftain.com or via Twitter at twitter.com/tracywumps.