The Chancla Brings New Mexico Flavor to Brunch in the ID
Learn more about the newest brunch spot in Albuquerque's International District, The Chancla.
By Kristin Satterlee
A new sign is up on the stretch of San Mateo between Central and Gibson. A colorful sandal—a chancla—brightens the building where Candice Billy and Jeremy Jourdian, veterans of Albuquerque’s restaurant kitchens, bring their take on brunch to the International District.
New Mexican classics meet brunch faves
Menu items with New Mexico flair include Tres Leches French toast, the Chancla breakfast sandwich—a messy, delicious pile of chorizo eggs and more on a housemade English muffin—and the Five Oh Five Benito, which Billy describes as eggs Benedict crossed with an Albuquerque Turkey sandwich.
Billy says, “We had an idea for [a brunch pop-up] called The Chancla. It signified the labor and toil that goes into [providing for a family] whether you like it or not. I thought it was silly.
“A couple months later, we got the offer and I'm like, what would we call our restaurant? Jeremy's like, ‘we're already running The Chancla. Let's do The Chancla.’”
Skipping “ambiance prices”
Jourdian explains, “We love brunch. We just felt it was a shame that to get an eggs Benedict, we had to go to … these nicer places. They do an amazing job, but we just felt like a lot of that was being paid for just ambiance. Maybe we don't have the most ambiance, but we do have really good food, and we wanted to provide a nice brunch without the ambiance prices.”
Billy laughs in agreement. “It doesn't need to be this $24 entree, you know?”
A family business
Billy recalls, “Everyone always asked us, why don't you guys open a restaurant? It's like, because it's very difficult. The margins are slim.” But then the owner of the building offered to rent it to the couple. “We're not sure we could swing this anywhere else. This is really a big opportunity that we appreciate.”
The business works for their family life: On weekends their 6-year-old son sells pickles from a big jar on the counter. “He wants an iPad. So we told him that if he just sells his pickles, you know, raises the money…. That's his job.”
Opportunity in the ID
Billy and Jourdian are excited to have found a home in the International District.
Jourdian says, “It seems like a great opportunity, with prices and rents and everything going up everywhere. Nob Hill is just really out of reach for us and what we want to do. This area really brings a great opportunity… for a business to be able to offer something more culinarily exciting. It also gives us the ability to offer some New Mexican staples that are more priced for entry, for people to come in, so we can give the best of both worlds.”
Billy reflects on the vibrancy of the neighborhood. “I love all the languages here. I love all the different cultures ... I enjoy seeing everyone get off the bus and go, you know, meet all their families and run back to their homes. It's just so bustling, it's lively, and I really like seeing it. There's community.”