MESILLA – Two-year-old Madelyn Davies is not only part of a seven-generation Las Cruces family, she also has a restaurant named in her honor.
Madelyn’s opened its doors last October at 2488 Calle de Guadalupe, at the intersection with Calle de Principal in Mesilla, right across the street from the Fountain Theatre. The owners are Madelyn’s parents, Amanda and Kent Davies, and Amanda’s parents, Robert May and Irma Chavez-May.
Irma and Amanda manage the restaurant, sometimes joined by Madelyn’s 3-year-old brother, Cooper, who helps with stocking and other chores and even has his own Madelyn’s uniform.
Chavez-May and Davies typically arrive at Madelyn’s by 6:30 a.m. to complete that day’s preparation of croissants, cinnamon rolls, turnovers, muffins, biscotti, brownies; survivor, magic and peanut butter dream bars, pies, cheesecake, tiramisu and pumpkin, zucchini, banana and carrot cake, to go with the restaurant’s trademark coffee and other hot and cold drinks.
“We are the bakers,” Chavez-May said.
The menu also includes pizza made from scratch, which was chosen as a signature dish so the restaurant “would not duplicate the Mexican food” popular at other Mesilla eateries, Davies said, along with sandwiches, gluten-free turkey- and veggie wraps and a breakfast menu that includes oatmeal, waffles, French toast, omelets and Quiche a la Madelyn.
Chavez-May and Davies have a long history of local restaurant ownership and management.
Chavez-May opened a TCBY Yogurt store in Las Cruces in 1991, and then opened Coffee Haus on the New Mexico State University campus in 1997 and operated it for 24 years. Davies, who has a bachelor’s degree in hotel, restaurant and tourism management from NMSU, began working at the coffee house at the age of five.
With the opening of Madelyn’s, “We’re both getting our dreams fulfilled,” said Chavez-May, who has a degree in management. She is also a real estate broker, and learned the Mesilla property was for sale when the owners asked her to list it.
“It’s been very, very busy,” said Davies, also a real estate agent, along with her husband and father, who just retired from the profession.
The Mays and Davies are already in the process of expanding Madelyn’s. Robert and Kent are at work on the north side of the building, getting an additional dining room ready to open when Madelyn’s adds beer, wine and spirits to its menu in February, Chavez-May said. There will also be a stage for local musicians to perform live as the restaurant expands into night-time hours.
Madelyn’s is located just south of the historic Mesilla Plaza and San Albino Church, where Chavez-May’s grandfather, a Mesilla Valley farmer named Isaac Chavez, served as an usher for 40 years, she said.
Now, within sight of that historic Mesilla landmark, Isaac Chavez’s descendants are “starting the circle again,” Chavez-May said.
Madelyn’s is open 8 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sunday, with expanded hours coming in February. You can dine in or call ahead for pickup, including Madelyn’s coffee boxes and pastry boxes. Coffee beans are also for sale.
More information is available via 575-319-4549 or MadelynsMesilla.com.