Cowgirl BBQ Temporarily Closed

Closure follows similar cases at other Santa Fe restaurants after worker tests positive for COVID-19

Cowgirl co-owner and head chef Patrick Lambert works on take-out in May.| Katherine Lewin

By Alex De Vore

With Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announcing the re-tightening of restrictions for New Mexico restaurants earlier this week—and concerns over COVID-19 temporarily shuttering both Maria's and Second Street Brewery's Rufina Taproom last week—the Cowgirl BBQ announced via Facebook today that an employee has tested positive for coronavirus:

It's unclear how long testing remaining employees might take, though the recent uptick in cases across the state has reportedly come with delayed results for many New Mexicans. Regardless, according to Lujan Grisham, careless New Mexicans have been the real culprit of rising coronavirus numbers, not businesses adhering as closely as they can to CSPs or COVID-Safe Practices

"Businesses in and of themselves are not creating a risk, people are ," she said during a public address yesterday. "And as a result of those behaviors, we have to restrict access because I can't manage…the risk without doing it. I just want to point that out. Restaurants did not do this to New Mexico, New Mexicans did this to restaurants."

The state continues its so-called "rapid response" protocol for workplace tests. It has conducted 491 such responses since May 11, including at restaurants. The week before, that number had been 238.

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