The state of New Mexico saw 1,039 restaurants go out of business from December 2019 through December 2021, a release from the New Mexico Restaurant Association said.
That number represents an almost 20% closure rate of the 5,775 dining establishments in operation at the end of 2019.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain issues and government-imposed shutdowns played a role in the closures. New Mexico’s multiple economic shutdowns were enacted by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham despite multiple calls from bipartisan lawmakers to change the Emergency Powers Code to include the State Legislature in the decision-making process. At the height of those economic shutdowns, major corporations were allowed to stay open to the public while New Mexico’s small businesses were forced to shut their doors with little economic help.
“Small businesses in New Mexico make up the majority of our economy, that is one business fact that is unique to our state,” state Rep. Jane Powdrell-Culbert (R-Rio Rancho) said in a recent EIN press release. “New Mexico has an entrepreneurial economy, and with the multiple shutdowns, we have seen how devastating this has been to so many of our friends’ and neighbors’ livelihoods. Unfortunately, most small businesses are dealing with rebuilding their business, while also trying to replace long-term employees that have left. This is especially true for restaurants, the impact of these businesses rebuilding their staffing will have a lasting effect on our job market.”
New Mexico small businesses employ 54.2% of the state’s private workforce, recent data from the Small Business Administration showed. Additionally, small businesses make up 99% of the state’s economy.
Recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that New Mexico currently has one of the highest rates of unemployment in the U.S., tied with Alaska at 4.5% and just behind the leader, the District of Columbia (5.2%).
“As a restaurant owner in Mosquero, I have seen firsthand the challenges restaurants across the state have dealt with over the last two years,” state Rep. Jack Chatfield (R-Mosquero), said in the release. “I am not surprised that nearly 20% of our restaurants closed. Unfortunately, Governor Lujan Grisham made these decisions on her own, and our Legislative body was not involved in the COVID-emergency decisions. There is much work to be done to regain the trust of New Mexico’s small business community, as many feel Governor Lujan Grisham has left them behind in favor of national chain establishments.”