El Nido History

In the late 1920’s, John Evans, the Conoco distributer for the Santa Fe County Area, built the front part of El Nido as a Conoco Station and convenience store.  When John gave up his distributorship, the property reverted to the original land owners, the Griego family.

In the process of developing the property, an owls nest was discovered in one of the trees.  Thus the property became known as “El Nido de Tecolote,” or “The Owls Nest.”  In popular usage, this was shortened to “El Nido” or, “The Nest.”

When the Griego family took over El Nido, they added a bar and kitchen.  El Nido became a dance hall and café.  They added a second dining room , which later became known as the Zozobra room.  A madame and a group of women began working the room, using stalls with corn shucks and hay on the floor.  Old Judge Seth got the madam and the women relocated to Arizona, to a more cooperative jurisdiction, because Tesuque is a quiet, Hispanic, family oriented village.

Charlie Berse and his wife Mi Mi, took over El Nido in the late 1930’s.  Charlie and Mi Mi were illegal immigrants from France, who took refuge in Santa Fe and provided good European style food in their restaurant.  At the time Santa Fe’s population was under 7,500 and the only other food available was the delicious local Northern New Mexican cuisine.

After WWII, Charlie began keeping a tank of live lobsters in the front room on Friday nights.  He had them shipped out from the East Coast on the railroad, and by Saturday night El Nido diners had finished them off.  Charlie also put in a juke box in the front room.  When the rug was rolled up at about 10:00 p.m., the dancing started and lasted until way up in the night on Fridays and Saturdays.  Charlie moved to downtown Santa Fe and opened the Palace Restaurant, and Ray and Irene Arias took over El Nido.

Maria Benitez, the famous flamenco dancer and choreographer for the Metropolitan Opera, presented the first flamenco dance program ever seen in the United States, on the stage in the third dining room.  At that time, the stage was outdoors.

Will Schuster, who started the tradition of burning Zozobra, after a festival he had seen in Spain, painted murals depicting the burning of Zozobra for the Zozobra room. Those murals are now in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in
Santa Fe.  Will also created dining table chairs for that room, 32 which are still used in the Zozobra room.  The later mural, depicting the history of the Santa Fe area from the days of the Spanish land grant until the 1990s, was painted for use in the Zozobra room, and may still be seen and appreciated there.

During its first season, in 1957, the Santa Fe Opera presented Igor Stravinsky’s opera, “The Rake’s Progress.”  Igor Stravinsky ate dinner regularly at El Nido during that season because of its location convenient to the Santa Fe Opera.

Over the years, El Nido has traditionally been a favorite place for dining by local Santa Feans as well as the many celebrities who have homes in the area.  When the State Legislature is in session, many special gatherings of politicians and their followers enjoy relaxing at el Nido with good food and beverages.El Nido is a favorite spot for special occasions, such as anniversaries, birthdays, and class graduations.

Don Sharhag and Dennis Damf , former Steaksmith managers when it was downtown, operated El Nido successfully for 28 years.  On January 24st, 2010 their lease was completed and they both decided to retire.

Tom and Roey Vimont welcome you to the new chapter in the El Nido story.  El Nido reopened on June 24th, 2010.  We are glad to provide you with the best food and service available in the Santa Fe area.