ABQ restaurant apologizes after server gets physical with GOP chair

What was intended to be a routine gathering of the New Mexico Young Republicans turned into a tense and dramatic incident Tuesday night at Mimi’s Cafe in Albuquerque, prompting swift condemnation from GOP leaders and a public response from the restaurant’s upper management.

According to a series of posts by the Republican Party of New Mexico (RPNM) on X (formerly Twitter), the meeting — attended by party Chairwoman Amy Barela and Executive Director Leticia Muñoz — was interrupted by two restaurant servers who allegedly began clearing tables and “closing tickets yelling above the speakers,” despite the venue’s posted closing time of 9:00 p.m.

“The meeting was held at Mimi’s Cafe. In the middle of the meeting, two servers began clearing tables and closing tickets yelling above the speakers,” RPNM posted. “The venue didn’t close until 9, but it seems they wanted us out by 7:30.”

Executive Director Muñoz reportedly confronted the servers about the disruptive behavior. “Leticia Muñoz commented to the server about how bad the service was and how rude they were being to interrupt the meeting,” the GOP post continues. “In response, the server as seen on video, began yelling that the group was speaking over the other server. The server then noticed she was being video recorded by the Chairwoman and proceeded to rush at her aggressively slapping the phone out of her hand committing battery according to Albuquerque Police Officers.”

Chairwoman Barela was reportedly recording the disruptive behavior when the altercation occurred. The GOP emphasized the incident as both a physical offense and an example of political hostility, stating, “This is just another example of out of control crime in Albuquerque, not to mention the typical attempt to silence opposing views.”

The post continued with a broader critique: “It’s time to go back to the basics of teaching kindness, respect and customer service if that is the field you choose to work in. The NM Young Republicans are working hard to educate and empower the youth of NM and do not deserve to be treated this way.”

Less than 24 hours after the incident, RPNM shared an update indicating that Mimi’s Cafe upper management had reached out to the organization directly. “RPNM is very grateful to have received two calls today from Mimi’s Cafe upper management,” the GOP stated in a follow-up post. “They voiced serious concern having never seen this type of behavior and priding themselves with a customer-oriented establishment.”

The restaurant is said to have invited the group to return and offered individual gift cards to Chairwoman Barela and Executive Director Muñoz as a gesture of goodwill. “We hope that the current employees who make Mimi’s Cafe a great place to eat are in a better place by letting those two servers go,” the GOP added.

The party ended the update on a tongue-in-cheek note, encouraging supporters to dine at the restaurant: “Let’s Make Mimi’s Great Again!”