Optimism
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M’tucci’s Founder Jeff Spiegel
EDITOR’S NOTE: We hope you all had a wonderful and thankful day with friends and family. Since the opening of M’tucci’s , our Founder, Jeff Spiegel, has offered valuable leadership to the Partners. His years of experience in the restaurant business combined with his being in tune with social and economic forces offer hope for a post-pandemic business climate.
(Published in the Albuquerque Journal, 11/25/2020
BY Jeff Spiegel
Founding Partner, M’tucci’s Restaurants
Its nearly Thanksgiving. It doesn’t feel like it this year: here in New Mexico, its 15 degrees warmer, at least,
than it should be in this season. That’s the case because of global warming and President Trump, who also
has been generating excessive heat since the election. It’s November 2020. The United States is heading into
its 10th month of the coronavirus pandemic. The economy has been pummeled, and no part of it more so
than the restaurant business. Restaurants have closed permanently in every part of the country. Some, to
comply with government mandates, have closed, reopened, closed again. While there are vaccines just
over the horizon, the winter of 2020-21 promises to cause further devastation to many restaurants, with
drastic impacts on the livelihoods of employees and vendors.
Here in New Mexico, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham recently suspended all indoor dining for two weeks,
hoping to tamp down the resurgent killer virus, which is peaking. This is the second such closure. We support
this drastic measure, and we hope that it works. The three M’tucci’s restaurants that I founded with my
young partners are once again getting by living only on takeout and delivery sales, as well as early sales of
products placed in grocery stores. M’tucci’s will make it. While we will survive, millions of people have lost
their jobs and have been left to scramble. As of mid- September, 100,000 restaurants had closed, many never
to reopen. The National Restaurant Association calculates that the industry will have lost $240 billion by the
end of the year.
I write this with the expectation that effective vaccines are likely to be widely available by summer, or
possibly sooner. But even if that is the case, where will this leave the restaurant business?
After the coronavirus has wreaked its destruction, for the survivors and for new businesses looking to open,
there will be new opportunities for those poised to capitalize. Once people no longer have to fear dying by
going out, they will be dying to go out. But every town and city in this country will come out of 2021 with
many fewer restaurants than it had going into 2020.
Dont despair. There is a future. It’s not far off.
For the survivors, the post-pandemic period will provide enormous opportunity for expansion. For new
businesses, the landscape will also be ripe with opportunity. Landlords whose restaurant tenants have
crashed and burned will be anxious to lease their empty spaces, and rents will reflect that.
The coronavirus has provided operators with time to think, consider alternatives and plan. Our company
president, John Haas, developed myriad new products and delivery systems during the pandemic. He has
also used the slowdown to develop a platform for M’tucci’s wholesale business. Before the pandemic,
M’tucci’s was making five types of bread, eight different pasta shapes, mozzarella and burrata, and a variety
of sausages and cured meats. Coming out of the pandemic, John has positioned us to be able to sell such a
high volume of the meat products that the revenues will rival those of an entire restaurant. This was a direct
result of his realization that farmers were suffering, and that we could be part of the solution by finding one to
partner with. He found the Sackett family farm in Iowa, and now we are helping each other by our close
collaboration.
Pondering the post-COVID 19 future, all of us need to keep our eyes open. Change is in the air. The ecosystem
is evolving; opportunities are there. I urge people in the food industry, and others as well, to consider the
changing landscape and be creative about adapting to new conditions. As an example of change, is it likely
that many of the businesses which sent their employees home to work are realizing they can save on
rent permanently. That may mean that some Downtown restaurant locations may not be desirable any longer,
or the rents may be cheaper. Additionally, we have already seen growth in businesses that provide meals to
assemble, heat and eat at home. And chefs and cooks are sharing co-kitchens, which makes them able to
meet growing demand and produce new products.
To my colleagues in the restaurant business and those who aspire to join our ranks, I hope you can survive
this plague on our sector and seize the opportunities that its aftermath will present. Don’t give up!
Jeff Spiegel greeting friends at the opening of M’tucci’s Twenty-Five
Holiday Gift Cards.
Get one of these for every $100 Gift Card.
Available until 12/31/2020
We are closed for dining, but we still have a few weekend specials for takeout or delivery.
Weekend Specials
M’tucci’s Italian
12 oz Hand Cut NY Strip - Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Grilled Lemon, Balsamic Reduction $29
Lightly Breaded San Dabs - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Artichokes, Sautéed Arugula, Lemon Caper Sauce $19
Gelato (pints only $8): Strawberry & Salted Caramel
Sunday Only: Full Rack of Baby Back Ribs, Salt Water Potatoes, Sautéed Spinach and House BBQ Sauce for $27
M’tucci’s Moderno
6 oz Hand Cut Beef Tenderloin - Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Italian Salsa Verde $26
Beef Tip Tortellini - Beef tips with Cajun Seasoning, Diced Tomatoes, Green Onion, Rosa Sauce and Gorgonzola Cheese $21
Gelato (Pint only $8): Lemon Berry
Sorbetto: Strawberry Blend
Sunday Only: House Made Lasagna with Herbed Ricotta, Five Pork Bolognese and Roasted Tomato Marinara. $16 (it’s large)
M’tucci’s Twenty-Five
Hand Cut 10 oz Chianina Delmonico - Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Smoked Blackberry Bone Marrow Butter $27
Gelatos (Pint only $8): Strawberry
Sorbetto: Lemon
Thanks for the Food
Just remember, it comes from farmers, fishermen and ranchers.
