During our time in Albuquerque last year, my wife wanted some breakfast. We had researched some places and we were told by one of our waiters from a previous meal that quite probably the best - and most unique - place for breakfast was the Flying Star Cafe. There were six locations to choose from around Albuquerque and we decided to drive out to the Paseo del Norte address to give Flying Star Cafe a try.
Jean Bernstein was born into a family of entrepreneurs, so it was a natural move for her and her husband Mark to open a franchise of a popular San Francisco-based ice cream shop by the name of Double Rainbow. In 1987, the Bernsteins opened Double Rainbow along Central Avenue in the Nob Hill neighborhood near the University of New Mexico. 8 years after opening Double Rainbow, the Bernsteins opened their second location in the Northeast Heights neighborhood along Juan Tabo Boulevard. A third Double Rainbow location opened in 2000 in Albuquerque's Uptown area.
By this time, the Bernsteins were looking to do more than ice cream. They had been slowly working food in the mix - especially locally-sourced/farm-fresh breakfast items. By the time the Bernsteins opened their fourth location in 2001 in the North Rio Grande area of Albuquerque, they mutually broke their franchise agreement with Double Rainbow and renamed their restaurant Flying Star Cafe - they got the Flying Star from a Chinese-manufactured aerial display rocket they saw in a fireworks magazine.
The North Rio Grande location of Flying Star Cafe was unique in that it was near horse trails and they put in a hitching post for people traveling by horse could stop in for a meal. It also featured a large outdoor patio - they called it the "Petio" - where patrons could eat along side their pets.
Pictured at right - Jean and Mark Bernstein. Photo courtesy The Flying Star & Satellite Coffee Blog
In 2002, Bon Appetit named Flying Star Cafe as one of the 10 Best Places in the United States to get breakfast. They continued to expand their menu including sandwiches, pasta dishes, and Southwestern-regional cuisine. They followed a philosophy of serving food that's "not fancy, but delicious and plentiful."
Buoyed by regional and national accolades, the Bernsteins and Flying Star Cafe were really on a roll. In 2005, Flying Star Cafe opened their fifth location in downtown Albuquerque in what was the former Southern Union Gas Company Building, a 1930's modernism-designed structure that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Bernsteins remodeled the building to pay homage to the original modernistic-theme including colorful murals, brushed aluminum light fixtures, 1930's modern-style furnishings and a contemporary color scheme. The downtown location was also unique in that they had individual meeting rooms where people could use for working lunches.
Their prolific growth continued in 2006 when they opened their sixth location in the Albuquerque suburb of Corrales, then their 7th Flying Star opened the next year along Paseo del Norte in northeast Albuquerque. (This was the one we went to.) 2008 saw the opening of the eighth Flying Star in suburban Bernalillo, and the following year the Bernsteins ventured outside greater Albuquerque to open a Flying Star Cafe in the Railyard District up in Santa Fe.
But as economics professors teach in college, rapid expansion doesn't always lead to rapid growth. Flying Star Cafe began to garner a reputation for being too pricey, so the Bernsteins listened to their clientele and put in a "value" menu. That helped for a while, but local economic conditions led to more setbacks for the Flying Star Cafe restaurants. With some restaurants underperforming, the Bernsteins were forced to file a Chapter 11 business reorganization in 2014. Within a year, Flying Star Cafe closed their downtown Albuquerque location, the one in suburban Bernalillo, and the lone non-Albuquerque area location up in Santa Fe.
The reorganization worked and within three years Flying Star's cash flow was positive, the Bernsteins had paid off all unsecured creditors and the restaurant broke out of bankruptcy protection allowing the Bernsteins to continue to run the restaurants. In addition to running the six Flying Star Cafe locations, since 1998 the Bernsteins have also owned Satellite Coffee, a five-location artisan coffee boutique that roasts its beans in small batches.
The Flying Star Cafe location we went to was in a shopping complex at the southeast corner of Paseo Del Norte and Wyoming Blvd. NE on the northeast side of Albuquerque. (see map) The parking lot in front of the contemporary-designed building was packed and we had to park out a ways from the front door.
And when we walked up to this Flying Star, the line was literally out the door - and this was at about 10:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning. But the line was moving pretty quickly. In all, it took us about 25 minutes from the time we queued up in line to when we were able to place our order at the counter. Had the place not come so highly recommended we probably would have bagged it and sought another place to have breakfast. But the wait gave us time to take a long look at the menu which was on a board above and behind the front counter area.
It also gave us time to take a look at the delectable muffins, pastries, pies and cakes they had in the glassed in front counter. They had a number of different cookies and treats on display - the espresso truffle brownie caught my eye. My wife was pretty interested in the blueberry scone, as well as the salted almond crème caramel baked vanilla custard.
The dining area was a splash of vibrant colors in a brightly naturally lit room. The booth backs and banquette seats along the long wall were varieties of orange and bright red. There was a small central area where there were small tables surrounding a four-sided banquette seating area. The outdoor patio area was packed that day, so after we ordered at the counter, we decided to sit inside at a table near the door that opened up to the patio.
It's breakfast all day at Flying Star Cafe which means you can get French toast with strawberries and bananas, blueberry pancakes, breakfast burritos and "make-your-own" omelets throughout the day. But they also had a number of sandwiches, burgers made with grass-fed beef, soups, salads, protein bowls, and their house-made mac & cheese which has won several awards for being the best in Albuquerque. The grilled fish tacos that I saw on the menu made me pause for a moment, but I was in the mood for breakfast.
After 15 minutes after we ordered, our food showed up carried out to us by a cheerful young lady. My wife and I both went with omelets that day and we both got a big glass of orange juice to chase the food. I got the turkey sausage, mushrooms and pepper jack cheese omelet with a "side of green" - Flying Star Cafe's house-made green chile sauce. The omelet came with home fries and a side of toast with some house-made jelly. The green chile sauce was thick and chunky that was a wonderful complement to the turkey sausage, mushrooms and pepper jack cheese inside the omelet. It was actually very good - and very filling.
My wife got the spinach, bacon and Swiss cheese omelet. She also had them add tomatoes and chopped onions in the omelet. She got some salsa to pour onto the omelet. Toast with the house-made jelly and home fries also came with her omelet. My wife was more than happy with her omelet and while she wasn't able to eat the whole thing, she finished off most of it.
Flying Star Cafe has won a number of national, regional and local awards over the years and given the popularity of the location we went to that beautiful Saturday morning it's no wonder. Our omelets were very good - they didn't skimp on the ingredients and there was certainly a lot of home fries on the side. We still had food on our plates and we noticed a lot of people taking "to-go" boxes with them that they could eat later on. Since we were traveling, we couldn't do that. But for a counter-serve place, the support staff was very helpful and friendly. And the place was colorful, vibrant and bright. Flying Star Cafe is a great place for breakfast for people of all ages.
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