Frontier Restaurant celebrates 50th anniversary

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Frontier Restaurant celebrated 50 years of being in business Wednesday.

When the now-famous restaurant opened its doors five decades ago, the owners said things were tough in the beginning.

“We only made $58, so I hope we can do that good today,” said Dorothy Rainosek, co-cowner of Frontier.

“So it was a little challenging for the first three or four months,” said co-owner Larry Rainosek.

After rising to prominence, the restaurant quickly became a staple in the community.

“They’ve been here a long time,” said Mike Lopez, a customer.

Visitors come from far and wide to eat at the Frontier, along with the Golden Pride locations that have sprung up over the years.

“Oh my gosh, who would have thought that we would still be here for one thing,” Dorothy said.

The Frontier celebrated by offering throwback food specials, and by welcoming in some of their most loyal customers for takeout and outdoor dining.

“It’s great to see people that come up and say, gee, they’ve been customers for most of the years we’ve been here,” Larry said.

Customers like Mike Lopez have been coming to the Frontier for 20 years.

“I’ve been coming here for a long time. I always like their huevos rancheros and their pancakes,” he said.

Dorothy and Larry Rainosek said they have plans to reopen indoor dining soon now that Bernalillo County has moved into the yellow level in the state’s red-to-green reopening plan.