85 years of La Posta de Mesilla: A New Mexico Treasure

MESILLA, New Mexico (KVIA) -- Many times when visitors come out of state and are looking for a place to eat authentic New Mexican food, locals will often refer them to La Posta de Mesilla, a staple in our region now for over eight decades.

In fact, the beloved restaurant is celebrating their 85th anniversary this week, officially hitting the milestone on Monday, September 16th.

To commemorate 85 years in the Borderland, ABC-7 took a tour of the La Posta "compound," as it's referred to by owner Tom Hutchinson, to get an idea of how much things have changed since 1939, and what stood on the property before that.

When founder Katy Griggs first opened the original La Posta Cafe, it was a simple taco stand with dirt floors and no running water.

It was in a stand-alone building that's now attached to the compound, and is now called the Banquet Room. However, even back then, Griggs wasn't the original tenant.

“If these walls could talk, they would tell you the history of Melilla," said owner Tom Hutchinson as he spoke with ABC-7 in the Banquet Room.

"You have some pretty famous personalities that hung out here, you’ve got Billy the Kid, Pat Garret, General Douglas MacArthur….many founders of Mesilla probably hung out here at one point in time," he added.

The original building served as a stagecoach stop, a saloon, and the Corn Exchange Hotel back in the 1800s.

Hutchinson says as Griggs began to acquire more property near the original building, the structures were attached to it, now making up 12 unique dining rooms.

In addition to the original Mesilla schoolhouse, La Posta also currently includes Katy Griggs' personal residence.

“She had a master bathroom back here," said Hutchinson as ABC-7 toured one of the dining rooms with him.

"There was a washroom back [there], but this area was a seating area. There was a door that actually went out to the courtyard [there], and [that] is where she would venture out. This was her little escape right next to her restaurant," he added.

Hutchinson also showed ABC-7 other mainstays of the restaurant, including the aviary with multiple tropical parrots in the lobby, and what he calls the only legal piranha in the state of New Mexico.

“Piranhas are outlawed in the state of New Mexico but we’re grandfathered because we’ve been here for a zillion years," he said.

He says local urban legends and rumors have surrounded the fish for years.

“There’s this rumor, this notion, that piranhas are meat eaters, so once one of our customers decided to take carne and put it in the tank and see if it was really true," said Hutchinson.

"Of course the fish probably wasn’t too inclined to eat the red carne, and it just messed up the entire tank and the water! In this case, it didn’t work out too well," he added.

Tropical animals and South American art are mainstays throughout the compound because of Griggs, and Hutchinson says it all goes back to her goal of creating a visually stimulating experience for the diner.

By combining all of these elements, he adds says Griggs was able to create a mainstay for both locals and out-of-towners alike to experience for years to come.

“What Katy offered was some pretty good authentic Mexican food in a pretty authentic environment. There’s nothing fake about La Posta," he said.

If you plan to take a visit, the restaurant has 85th anniversary celebration specials that you can catch throughout the rest of the month.

They're currently offering lunch specials of two for $19.39, a reference the to the opening year, from Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

There's also a margarita special of $8.50 in a "special" anniversary souvenir cup while supplies last.

All kids meals will be served on a free 85th anniversary commemorative frisbee.