When someone gets hungry in Corona, New Mexico, they head to El Corral Cafe on Main Street. Serving up a variety of central Mexican dishes as well as burgers done the way you like. Judging by their reviews, the town is happy to have them.
Humberto, Cristina, Socorro, and Nubia Beltran
El Corral Cafe
Humberto Beltran purchased the El Corral Cafe as a family business in 2005. His daughters Nubia and Cristina run it six days a week, Sunday through Friday. (They are closed Saturdays).
The Beltran family is originally from Chihuahua, Mexico. The owner’s daughter Nubia has a grown daughter of her own named Kathia, who attended school in Corona and then went on to New Mexico State University. Today she works as a nurse in Alamogordo.
Cristina is married to her husband Sergio, and together they have two children: their daughter, Kenya, 7, and their son, Humberto, Jr., 16.
A Great Place to Live
Nubia was the first of the two sisters to move up from Chihuahua and has remained in Corona because of the quality of life. “It’s quiet here,” Nubia said, “and peaceful.”
Mom Socorro, and daughter Nubia wave from the El Corral kitchen, where the magic happens
Cristina said, “It’s safe here. You can let your kids run around outside and everyone in town is like a big family. People are friendly, and things have really worked out for our family.”
Changing times bring growth and business
When the pandemic took hold in 2020, times became difficult at the cafe due to the slowdown in customers, and in 2021 she said it got worse.
“We were extremely worried,” Christian said, adding, “we thought we were going to have to close the restaurant, but then the business came from the wind workers. There have been so many workers that have come to eat here they literally saved our business.”
The sign outside
Cristina was referring to the workers from Western Spirit Wind, made up of three counties in New Mexico. Some 400 workers were regularly in Corona, and over 1,000 were involved in Western Spirit.
“Four hundred workers need a lot of burgers,” Cristina said, “and we would have days where Pattern Energy was ordering 50 or 100 burgers at a time! It shows how the area is changing, and we love all the new people coming to the Corona area. It’s great for our business!”
The Future
“We really love it here,” Nubia said. “Our business is doing well, our family has grown.”
Cristina Beltran
“Business is steady here in the restaurant, which is great,” Cristina said, “we are looking forward to the future. We live in a beautiful, friendly place and if we want, the city is two hours away.
“Corona is a great place to live, and we’re happy to be here.”
