After a long fight against he safety mandates put in place by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham during the pandemic, Backstreet Grill, a restaurant in Albuquerque, has announced that it will be closing its doors.
The owners fought the mandates put forth by the governor for 18 months before calling it quits, according to Pinon Post.
Brett Kokinadis, former candidate for the US House of Representatives and 2nd vice chair of the Santa Fe Republican Party, blasted the Governor in a tweet, saying, "Chief Destroyer of the Economy @GovMLG forced Backstreet Grill to call it quits & close its doors forever. MLG is a small business killer!"
The City of Albuquerque originally ordered the restaurant to close in the interest of public safety after a mandate handed down at the state level. The restaurant went back and forth with legal challenges for months before a judge dealt the final blow to the restaurant, ordering the restaurant to close its doors.
The owners of Backstreet Grill did not want to close down because, according to Pinon Post, they did not want to deprive their employees of work.
In a press release, representatives of the restaurant said, “If people want to come by in solidarity and support, many will join to say goodbye this Sunday, 9/5/21. [Attorney] Ana Garner will be there at 5:30 pm to thank the restaurant publicly for [its] efforts in standing up.”