Tim’s Place

 

I go home tomorrow from my great western adventure. I have been in Denver, Abiqui, the Monastery of Christ in the Desert, Santa Fe, and Albuquerque. Tomorrow morning I get on a plane bright and early in the morning and fly home. I am very much looking forward to being home; even though it’s not all that long before I begin the next leg of my journey to New Jersey. New Jersey, however, is easy. I’m from there so the state is not a huge mystery.

Dining has been an interesting adventure for me. There are state birds, state mottos, state plants, etc., but New Mexico has a state question: “Red or green?” The ‘red or green’ refers to the chili you want on top of your main dish. For my money, the red is really hot and the green makes the red look mild. I’ve learned to answer the question with the phrase, “on the side, please.”

While in Santa Fe I went to Zia Diner, made famous on “Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives.” It was good. It’s a very nice place, actually pretty upscale, and the food was good. I can’t say it was amazing, but it was good. No complaints. I made my way through a variety of modestly priced places and enjoyed it.

Today, in Albuquerque, there was one place I had to try. It is Tim’s Place.

I learned about Tim’s Place watching the news one night. NBC News had a final, ‘feel good’ story about a young man in Albuquerque named Tim Harris. Tim is 27 years old and a graduate of Eastern New Mexico University where he majored in Food Service, Office Skills, and Restaurant Hosting. He has also one dozens of gold medals in the Special Olympics. Tim has Down’s Syndrome and he had a dream. He wanted to own a restaurant.

With his parent’s help he opened a restaurant in 2010.

Tim is not the manager of the restaurant or the cook. Tim is the host. And his hosting is part of the reason the idea of him actually owning a restaurant took place. Tim worked as a host at a Red Robin restaurant in Albuquerque and his hosting ability had a dramatic impact on the business. Tim was an excellent host.

When you enter Tim’s Place the first person you encounter is Tim. He greets you with a warm handshake or hug and welcomes you and gets you seated. He periodically comes by to assure all is well. Whenever anyone comes to the front door, however, Tim makes a beeline to the door. NOTHING distracts him from welcoming people to Tim’s Place. The first person you meet is Tim and the last person you talk to is Tim. Tim is the gracious host.

In a journey of hospitality I’ve encountered monks, a United Church of Christ congregation, a variety of restaurants and hotels, and Tim stands out as something and someone very, very special.

Tim’s Place has good food, but they have a great host in Tim.