Where’s the best place to open a restaurant in New Mexico?

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New Mexico Tourism Department

According to a new report, Taos might be a good place to open and operate a restaurant in New Mexico.

Damon Scott

Reporter- Albuquerque Business First

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Should you open a restaurant in Taos? According to a new report, the best place to open a restaurant in New Mexico might be in the ski and art-heavy northern town.

Restaurant Business ranked 917 markets on a variety of markers that included population, number of restaurants, sales per capita and average sales per restaurant. The "Restaurant Growth Index" ranking was designed, it said, to help potential entrepreneurs and investors screen markets and find attractive areas for expansion and growth.

Taos was tops among New Mexico cities at No. 34, with restaurant sales per capita of $4,743 and sales per its 271 restaurants of $570,571. Albuquerque and Santa Fe ranked No. 501 and No. 526, respectively, while Los Alamos was last out of all metro areas on the list at No. 917.

In Albuquerque, restaurant sales per capita were $1,607. Out of the 1,890 restaurants it says the city has, the sales per restaurant equalled $773,285. Santa Fe's sales per capita came in at $1,988 based on its population, and per capita sales among its 368 restaurants was $798,842. Las Cruces was between Albuquerque and Santa Fe at No. 522 on the list, with restaurant sales per capita of $1,284 and sales per its 370 restaurants of $753,681.

The report said tourism was and has remained a strong driver of restaurant traffic and opportunity. "Consumers continue to loosen their purse strings and indulge in restaurant dining while on vacation," the report said. The top two states for restaurant growth in 2014 were in tourism-focused areas of Nevada and Hawaii, the two states with cities at the top of the 917-strong list.

505.348.8315 | damonscott@bizjournals.com
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