Mama T's to reopen in Road to Ruin building

LOGAN - The century-old Road to Ruin building along Logan's main drag will hold its grand reopening 5 p.m. Saturday, rechristened as Mama T's Road to Ruin restaurant, with a face behind the scenes familiar to many Tucumcari diners.

Todd Duplantis, who owns the Cornerstone First Edition and Kix on 66 restaurants in Tucumcari, signed a lease a few weeks ago to operate the Logan eatery at 103 U.S. 54. He's joined forces with Brian Cox, who was general manager of Mama T's at its previous location a few hundred feet down U.S. 54 in Logan before it announced its move last January.

Mama T's Road to Ruin opened for lunches only Jan. 15. Once it's fully operating, Duplantis said it would have about 20 employees, with that number likely increasing to 30 during the busy summer months.

He said owners Bill and Tonya Cone approached him in December about leasing the restaurant. They had planned to open it themselves, but Cox periodically would be unavailable because he was going through training to be a paramedic.

Duplantis said Friday he took a look at the inside of the building, and restaurant concepts began "popping into my head" right away.

"They asked if I would come in and aid them in betting this thing launched," he said. "I got kind of excited about it; I talked to the general manager here, and we both seemed to be on the same page of where we'd like to see this go. We both decided it would make a good partnership."

Duplantis signed the lease Christmas Eve.

"I thought it'd be a good opportunity. This is the type of restaurant I've always wanted to have," Duplantis added.

Cox said he wasn't remotely offended by Duplantis' relatively late entrance into the operation.

"It was a relief, truthfully," Cox said "It was a relief to have someone here while I was finishing out my paramedic schooling, that everything was going to be watched over and run smoothly. I wanted someone to take care of things when I wasn't here."

Duplantis said the restaurant primarily would offer what he calls "bunkhouse cuisine" - a meld of cowboy and New Mexican flavors where green chile, refried beans, tortillas, biscuits and calabacitas become prominent parts of the mix.

A perusal of Mama T's menu shows Mexican food, steaks, pork chops and even alligator. But Duplantis said the star might be Cox's barbecue offerings.

"As a chef, I have a hard time saying somebody's stuff is better than mine," Duplantis said. "I've cooked a lot of brisket in my time, but I would have to say I would buy his any day. We've got a lot of very good steaks, but we're going to be hinging a lot on his smokehouse talents."

Cox said the beef brisket would be smoked with mesquite, while the pork would be smoked with other woods that are available.

Cox and Duplantis stated their mutual admiration for each other's kitchen skills.

"A small portion of this menu is stuff I've created," Duplantis said. "A lot of it is played off of ideas he's had."

"Some of the ideas came after I looked at what he came up with," Cox said. "Getting with him, there were some methods I was able to improve on, and he came up with some ideas I thought improved things. To me, it's a win-win for both of us."

Cox said much of the remodeled restaurant is decorated with repurposed wood and even a stock tank from Cox River Ranch in rural Logan. They didn't touch the building's historic bar, however.

That bar won't be serving beer until probably late spring, though. Licenses to serve alcohol won't arrive until probably May, Duplantis said. Half of Mama T's beer taps would serve popular domestics and imports; the other half would be New Mexico-brewed beer.

Duplantis dismissed the idea he might be overextending himself running three restaurants.

"Cornerstone is now at that position where I don't necessarily have to be there," he said. "That's my baby; gradually I've been moving off of it and letting my managers manage. Kix, that was purely bought as an investment, and that crew over there does a wonderful job."

The Road to Ruin building opened as Johnson Mercantile in 1903. Mae Cobb leased the space, formerly known as the Ranch Bar, during the 1950s and changed it to the Road to Ruin. It was an Eagles club until it closed in July 2018.

Mama T's Road to Ruin's hours will be from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday. Duplantis said he might add Sunday hours once the business is running smoothly.