La Casita Cafe – Bernalillo, New Mexico (CLOSED)
Is there still a place in the American restaurant scene for hometown mom and pop institutions? According to the Nation’s Restaurant News, a respected trade magazine, almost fifty percent of the 100 largest chains saw flat or declining growth rates in sales in 2006. Those rates are largely attributed to the sheer volume of restaurant concepts (chains) cluttering the landscape. I like to think that another reason for the decline of the ubiquitous chains that blight American streets is the increasing realization among the dining public that better food, value and service can be found in mom and pop dining establishments. La Casita Cafe in Bernalillo is one restaurant validating that contention as evidenced by the overflowing throngs that consider…