By Stacie Armijo , Staff Reporter | Photo By Stacie Armijo
Tia Betty Blues, located at 1248 San Mateo SE, offers a wide range of homemade menu items and various discounts to customers five days a week, employee of Tia Betty Blues and liberal arts major, Cullen Boardman said.
On Thursdays, the restaurant gives a 30 percent discount to all CNM, UNM, and APS students and employees, he said.
“We are hoping to have more students come in and try us out,” Boardman said.
The restaurant also offers discounts for military personnel, medical personnel, and even people with tattoos, he said.
Tia Betty Blues makes all their food from scratch every day and the restaurant provides options for people with food allergies or specific needs, he said.
“All of our food can be customized for diabetics, vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free customers,” Boardman said.
There is also an array of specialty sodas with classic flavors and other unique options like Bacon, Ranch Dressing, and Apple Pie, he said.
“We do not serve alcohol but we do offer ginger ales and ginger beers. We offer a ginger ale with bits of real ginger inside that is popular with our customers,” Boardman said.
Frequent customers Linda Lou Taylor and Maureen Elswood said that one of the things that drew them to this unique establishment was the image of Tia Betty on the billboard out front.
“The image caught our eye when we were driving by,” Elswood said.
They both love the friendly attitude of the employees and the delicious food. “We also love the discounts,” Taylor said.
Taylor and Elswood said that Tia Betty Blues is their usual weekend destination and that they are there every Saturday.
“One of the reasons we keep coming back is because we love the food,” Taylor said.
Boardman said everything is prepared fresh and made to order. Nothing is frozen and orders are made when the customer places their order, he said.
The owner, Daniel Boardman, is Cullen Boardman’s father and is from Chimayo, New Mexico. He wanted to open a restaurant that brought Northern New Mexico flavor to Albuquerque and appealed to many different people, said Cullen Boardman.
The restaurant opened on May 1, 2012 and has been drawing in crowds ever since, he said. Breakfast is served all day long and just a few of the breakfast options include blue corn waffles, huevos rancheros, and a breakfast taco plate. For lunch, the best seller is the original New Mexico Po’ Boy, which is a Tia Betty exclusive with homemade carne adovada, cheese, onions, jalapenos and Fritos, served on a locally made baguette loaf, he said.
Tia Betty Blues is open 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday’s and Sunday’s. Wi-Fi is free for all customers. Like them on Facebook at Facebook.
