Day’s Hamburgers closing after 91 years in Las Cruces

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KVIA) -- A popular and long-serving burger joint in Las Cruces will be closing its doors after 91 years of operation.

The owners of Day's Hamburgers, located at 295 North Main Street, has announced that they will be closing their doors for good on September 1st, or when supplies run out.

David Fierro has been eating at Day's since he was a kid, more than 60 years.

“I remember being brought here by my dad after he’d get paid, and there were four of us, and we’d get a hamburger, a carton of orange drink, and chips for I think a dollar back then," says Fierro.

He says the closure will leave a void in downtown Las Cruces.

"[Its closing will leave] a hole in our memory too, some of us grew up on Day’s Hamburgers, even before McDonalds," he adds.

ABC-7 spoke with fourth-generation owner Deney-Rae Evans about the closure.

"There's a combination of a bunch of things for the closure," says Evans. "The workforce, and supply and demand, you know I really can't charge $12 for a hamburger."

She also says the rent for the building, which Day's has been leasing, is another factor.

The kitchen is small, and she says the owner of the building "doesn't want to put in the work" to upgrade it, and she doesn't want to put in the money herself since it's leased.

Evans says the kitchen is too small to deal with the demand.

"I haven't been able to find a new place we can move into that can work," she adds.

She says the decision to close has been a very hard one, but she says her family is "ready for a change."

"This is a completely life-changing thing for me. There's been staff I've had for years," Evans adds.

However, she's not ready to shut the door on the business for good.

"We could pop up somewhere down the road, I don't want to lay my head down and give up, that's why I won't sell the business. I would like to open it again down the road," she says.