New owners seek infusion of 'heart and soul' for Coyote Cafe

The venerable Coyote Cafe, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, is getting new owners who say they plan to return the famed restaurant to its glory days.

"We're really excited," said Sara Chapman, one of three partners who are buying the restaurant and expect to take over its management May 1 from celebrity chef/restaurateur Mark Miller.

The Coyote Cafe "has great bones -- it just needs a little heart and soul. But the bones are definitely there. It will be a fun challenge," she said.

Miller has agreed to sell a managing partnership to Chapman, who worked at the Coyote Cafe for 16 years before leaving two years ago; Tori Mendes, who is the restaurant's general manager; and a third Santa Fe resident who doesn't want her name disclosed, Chapman said.

When Miller retires -- a time that has not been set -- "we will be the sole owners of the Coyote Cafe," Chapman said.

The Water Street building where the restaurant is located, which is owned by a Chicago partnership, is not part of the deal, she said.

Miller, who also has restaurants in Washington, D.C., Las Vegas, Nev., and Sydney, Australia, could not be reached for comment. "He is doing consulting work and travels all over the world," Chapman said.

Miller has written numerous books, including The Great Salsa Book, The Great Chile Book and Red Sage: Contemporary Western Cuisine.

As Flavor Online, a culinary Web site, puts it, "Mark Miller is a culinary scholar, successful restaurateur, celebrated author and world-renowned chef. Soon after opening his landmark Coyote Cafe in Santa Fe, Mark gained the dual status as the father of Southwest cooking and one of this nation's most influential chefs."

In recent years, Miller has not spent as much time in Santa Fe as he did previously, leading some observers to wonder if he had lost interest in his first restaurant.

"The Coyote Cafe's Mark Miller is one of the most interesting chefs in the country -- when he is interested," Stephen Lewis wrote in a recent review in The New Mexican. "But I don't get the feeling that the restaurant, now about 20 years old, interests him very much."

Lewis added: "To someone who remembers the Coyote at its peak, it seems subdued now, as if waiting for something to happen."

The three partners hope to capture Miller's touch when they take over the restaurant. "We know that touch," Chapman said. "We've worked with every chef who's ever been there."

Chapman and Mendes also want to review the original Coyote Cafe menus and perhaps bring back some "old favorites. Maybe we'll spice them up a bit," she said. "Hopefully, we'll be able to incorporate what he taught us over all those years."

The new owners also want the restaurant to be open more days than it is now and to advertise more, and they hope to increase the number of private parties.

Contact Bob Quick at 986-3011 or bobquick@sfnewmexican.com

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