COVID-19 doesn't stop former shuttered Queen Cafe from reopening

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An order by New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham limiting restaurants to takeout and home delivery during the COVID-19 coronavirus on March 18 didn’t hamper a soft opening of a former shuttered Eddy County eatery. 

Joel and Joy Massey had a limited opening for the Queen Cafe and Campground, located nearly 50 miles west of Carlsbad March 20.

Joy Massey said the cafe had been closed for nearly a year and this is the couple’s first venture of restaurant ownership.

The Masseys purchased the cafe and campground from Lynn and Kimberly Ballard in February, Joy Massey said.

“The first weekend, they shut everything down for the coronavirus,” she said.

Queen Cafe and Campground’s grand reopening is set for Memorial Day weekend.

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“The soft opening was to just to kind of get us where we needed to be, when we do our grand opening,” said Joel Massey.

“(And) be comfortable and be able to serve people the way they feel like they need to be served. We don’t want ridiculous waits, we don’t want orders getting messed up. We just want it to be where we’re kind of running it and it’s going to be as smooth as we can get it.”

Joel Massey said business has been steady since the eatery and campground reopened after being dormant for nearly a year.

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“We’re not really sure what to expect, we opened amidst the COVID stuff. We haven’t been able to seat anybody in our restaurant,” he said. “We’ve been busy with to go orders.”

Joy Massey said they really can’t compare with past performances at Queen, since it was restarted when Lujan Grisham limited restaurants to carry out and drive thru orders.

“It used to be where it was a sit-down restaurant with a couple of takeout orders, where now we're solely take out. Each week it seems like they restrict us a little bit more,” she said.

“Now we’re down to only one person at a time in the cafe for ordering. At the RV park we have 20 spaces and we’re only able to rent five right now.”

Joy Massey said the cafe is open Friday through Sunday.

“Right now, we’re open Friday (from) 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.,” she said.

Joel Massey said the campground and cabin are open seven days a week.

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Once Memorial Day rolls around, the Masseys may be looking at other options for expanded days of operation for the cafe.

“During hunting season and stuff like that, where maybe we can expand a little bit. But, it probably won’t be a full-time thing. It will just be kind of more seasonal,” Joy Massey said.

The Masseys tweaked the original menu, which still features a taco basket, bacon lettuce and tomato sandwich, salads and hamburgers.

Joel Massey said one new item, the Fire and Brimstone Burger, was inspired by some clergy people.

“It’s a burger with ghost pepper jack cheese with onions and jalapenos and then our brimstone seasoning, which is really hot,” he said.

“We also have a mushroom Swiss burger, that we call “The Duke” and that was named after one of my buddies that passed away last year.”

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After the grand opening in May, Joel Massey said the cafe will offer some special dishes.

“It will be something every week, whether it’s barbecue one week or steak and a baked potato, just all kinds of different stuff,” he said.

A native of Fredericksburg, Texas, Joel Massey admits his food has a Tex-Mex flavor.

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For desert, Joy Massey is serving homemade cupcakes. Something she has done for seven years with her own dessert company Truly Scrumptious Cupcakes.

She said baking cupcakes was a stress reliever from her daytime job as a nurse.

“It gave me an outlet to bring it into the cafe,” she said.

People can call 830-992-7839 for takeout orders or leave messages on the Queen Cafe and Campground Facebook page.  

Editor's note: This story was correct to reflect Kimberly Ballard's correct name. The Carlsbad Current-Argus regrets the error. 

Mike Smith can be reached at 575-628-5546 or by email at MSmith@currentargus.com or @ArgusMichae on Twitter.