ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – An Albuquerque restaurant is closing its brick-and-mortar location for good, according to their social media. The owner said increasing rent and years of vandalism played a large role in the decision.
“[We’ve] definitely have had problems with breaking into windows, stealing food. They came in and ripped TVs off the wall,” explained Nicholas Riccardi, owner and chef of Kamikaze Kitchen.
A local restaurant is closing its doors, right after its fourth anniversary. Kamikaze Kitchen said it’s a decision they were forced to make after years of rising costs and vandalism.
“I actually have a rock that somebody threw through my front door. That I joke around and call my thousand dollar rock because what he stole and replacing the window cost me about a thousand dollars,” says Riccardi.
Nicholas Riccardi is the owner and chef at Kamikaze Kitchen. He started as a food truck back in 2018 before opening the brick-and-mortar location near Wyoming and Comanche in 2019. Riccardi said over the last few years, both the restaurant and food truck have faced multiple break-ins.
He claimed, at one point, someone drove by and randomly shot at multiple businesses along Wyoming, including Kamikaze. Bullets went through their front entrance windows, which would cost thousands to replace.
“Costs like that are what hurt small businesses in Albuquerque, and crime like that is affected by people in Albuquerque. Maybe it goes unnoticed every day, but us, business owners, notice it every day,” said Nicholas Riccardi.
Riccardi stated other factors that made it hard to stay open include increasing rent costs and a drop in sales. Despite the restaurant closing, Riccardi said the food truck will continue, and he’s grateful for the public’s support these past few years. He’s hoping they’ll continue to support them in the future.
“It’s who I am from my past and who I am today in the present,” said Riccardi.
Riccardi encourages people to check their social media pages for hours and locations of the food truck.
