Manager Candelario de la Cruz fulfills a customer’s order at the Church’s Chicken in Santa Fe on Friday afternoon. The franchise is in danger of closing if sales cannot be improved in the next two weeks.
SANTA FE — Sort of like the Holstein cows of billboard fame, the chamber of commerce is urging residents to eat more chicken, or face losing a local restaurant.
In an unusual move last week, Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce President Fay Picard sent out an e-mail urging residents to patronize the Church’s Chicken restaurant, 13530 state Highway 6. In her e-mail, Picard warned that if business doesn’t pick up within the month, the store will be closed for good.
The corporate owners of the fast-food chain brought in a new manager in hopes of turning things around. He confirmed that if things don’t get better and fast, the restaurant that’s called Santa Fe home for more than 30 years will close its doors.
Candelario de la Cruz said between 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. each day, the restaurant takes in between $170 and $200 in business. When he took over operations two weeks ago, he was told he had a month to turn things around.
So far, he hasn’t seen much improvement.
When Picard found out the news from Chamber Chairwoman Andrea Brinegar, she sprang into action.
“When we heard, we thought we needed to save the business,” Picard said. “I have 400 members to help get the word out.”
Picard said it’s the first time the chamber has taken such action.
While chambers of commerce in the county are known for urging members to support companies that are major employers and hold ribbon cuttings for new businesses — big and small — when they open, this was the first time in recent years a local chamber has made such a call for help for a business with so few employees or economic impact.
Thing is, Church’s isn’t even a member of the chamber, but that isn’t the point Picard said.
“We don’t need anything closing; we need openings,” Picard said. “It may not be high-paying jobs: it is still jobs, and those people who work there need their jobs.”
Keeping the restaurant open is important to offering a variety of food options in the city, Picard said.
De la Cruz said he was offering discounts for purchases of $10 or more and slashed the prices on many of the items on the menu in hopes of drumming up business. He isn’t sure when corporate officers would make the final decision on the store’s fate.
Daily News reporter Laura Elder contributed to this report.
