For Sara Nora, the Sundance Mexican Restaurant, located just east of the corner of High Street and Copper King Trail, has been a part of her life as long as she can remember.
Born in the high country that has been her home for the past 42 years, she is the daughter of restaurant founders Linda and John Hoag who opened for business in 1974.
Sara attended school in Red River, Eagle Nest and attended Cimarron High School. Some of her earliest and most pleasant memories are of having dinner with the family every night after getting home from school.
Other early childhood memories include liking the summer a lot because there was no school.
“All we did was ride our bikes all summer!”
She also remembers the horses from the Gallagher-Gwinn stables which was located a half a block east of the restaurant across Bitter Creek and she has fond recollections of sledding on the hill located near the Mutz pasture, across the Red River, A hill that is still the site of sledding and tubing adventures for kids of all ages.
She also recalls that washing dishes at Sundance was the first job for her and her sister Jenny who now lives in Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands. Sara was 12 years old and has since done nearly everything associated with the operation of a successful restaurant.
“From there we worked holidays and weekends. I eventually worked my way up to cooking and then took over scheduling and the hiring of the kitchen. I also worked out front waiting tables.”
Her current title is Chief Chef and Owner, a job description she has had since becoming a partner with her parents in 2010. She is still prepared to do whatever needs to be done. The summer of 2020 is a good example.
“I never thought I would see us dining in the parking lot!” When indoor dining ceased to be an option due to the NM Department of Health order, business cooperation to deal with the situation was incredible.
“We had help with tents and tables, help from Steve Heglund from TRs and the Lodge, and Faith Mountain helped. The town pulled together and it worked!”
The Sundance building began life as El Sombrero Lodge & Cabins, built and operated by John and Nell Wagner. There was a small kitchen and the Wagners provided limited dining for guests. At the time, it was located on the state highway that ran from Eagle Nest to Questa. When the new highway was built in the mid-1960s, rerouting Main Street to its current location through the center of town, the road in front of the building became High Street, its current designation.
As was the case until the opening of the Red River Ski Area in 1959-1960, the lodge was only open during the summer months. In 1974 Jerry Ficklin, the owner at the time, whose father Cleo was a notorious Red River gambler in the 1940s, sought out John and Linda. At the time the Hoags were involved in food service at the Red River Ski Area and they purchased the property from Ficklin.
They converted the main building into a full-service kitchen and opened the Sundance, offering Mexican food. They lived upstairs above the restaurant and also operated the lodge units. While nightly rentals are no longer in the operation, Sara says the lodge rooms are for long-term residents, many of them employees of the restaurant. However, she says Sundance still offers some rental units for long-term housing.
Growing up in “The Ski Town of the Southwest,” Sara admits that she has been skiing her entire life.
“Although, I didn’t do any skiing when I was in high school. I didn’t like it. Then when I came back from college, I started teaching up there. I got really good at it and, ever since then, I’ve been into it!”
Early in the ski season this year, before things became really busy, she posted her adventures on the mountain, logging the number of runs and total mileage on her Facebook page.
She went one year to Lubbock Christian University and spent another year at Texas Tech studying biology.
“I wanted to be a physical therapist, but I also really loved science. I thought a degree in biology would be pretty flexible.
“It was one of those weird things where you think you’re just going to take a break and then… It turned into a long break.
“Maybe I’ll get my degree when I retire!”
Over the years Sara has seen a lot of changes, although the basic product that Sundance has provided to the Red River economy has remained constant.
“I’d have to say the biggest change is that Red River has gotten to see more year-round business. The off seasons aren’t as long as they used to be.
“I can tell that the taste of the customers has evolved. They have come to appreciate fresh food, homemade food, the quality of meat. They are a lot more knowledgeable about things like that.”
While the Sundance menu has remained basic for many years, they have added new items such as the zesty Southwest Egg Roll appetizer which is stuffed with chicken, black beans, corn, cheese and cilantro and served with habanero ranch and the popular Honey-Chipotle Pork Tenderloin.
“I’d say chipotle pork has been on our menu for about the past 15 years!”
What is the most popular dish on the menu?
“I’d say it’s the fajitas (available in chicken, beef and shrimp) and the stuffed sopaipillas. Those have been popular for a long time!”
Over the years, sopaipillas with honey butter served with meals as a dessert have become a trademark of Sundance hospitality. “They are very different from other people’s sopaipillas.”
Sara explains that her parents were fans of a particular restaurant in Taos. When the Hoags decided to go into the Mexican restaurant business, they used that restaurant as a model and sopaipillas have been a main stay of the menu.
“I can’t remember the name of the place, but when they started, they had to do a lot of research and trying different recipes, which was much harder back then, before the internet.
“Somehow, from all that, they created their own recipe for sopaipillas.”
Sara says another big key to success has been the staff, many of whom have been at Sundance for years. “Tabitha, she started busing tables at age 14 and now she’s the manager, working here 15 years. Kim and Tori have been here at least 10 years. Krista been here a while. Rick Gill is in the kitchen. It’s great.”