In Santa Fe, The Bull Ring mixes the business of oil and gas with the pleasure of great food.
The first thing you need to know about Santa Fe, New Mexico’s The Bull Ring is this:
“It’s a place to see and be seen,” says Steve Henke, president of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association.
State legislators have been coming to the restaurant since it opened across from the Capitol in 1971. They kept coming when Harry Georgeades bought it in 1980. They followed him when he changed its theme from continental to an upscale steakhouse in 1995 and moved to a new location just off the historic Plaza. “I thought it wasn’t going to be a problem,” Georgeades says, “but everybody else thought we weren’t going to do well. But the legislators followed us.”
So did oil and gas executives… land owners… bankers… realtors… tourists… filmmakers… musicians… locals….
The second thing you should know is this: “They serve pretty good food,” Henke says.
USDA prime, corn-fed beef, shipped from a Chicago packing plant and hand-cut daily. An extensive wine and spirits selection. Great desserts and after-dinner drinks. All in a main dining room that looks cozy but in fact can seat 140, plus another 50 during summers on an outdoor patio, and a comfortable lounge that seats 60.
Combine that with an exemplary wait staff and it’s easy to see why The Bull Ring has become the place for oil and gas executives to broker deals.
“Many a difficult policy issue has been hammered out at The Bull Ring,” stated Ben Shepperd, President of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association. “It is a fantastic place to enjoy great food as well as to conduct business.”
Jim Vanderhider, of Houston-based EnerVest Ltd., adds: “There’s a long history of politicians enjoying a great meal after a legislative session. From my perspective the food is fantastic and the environment is conducive to deal making—relaxing environment, never hurried, and great, patient service.”
NMOGA sponsors a legislative dinner during the 60-day session, while an oil and gas convention in October practically fills the restaurant, as do quarterly lease sales by the state land office and Bureau of Land Management.
“The time to really go is during the federal government lease sales,” says Roswell, New Mexico, geologist Mike Boling. “A lot of people are there.”
“There’s always networking,” adds John J. “Jay” Lendrum III, chairman of the board of Houston-based Torch Energy Advisors Inc. “Talking about what they’re buying, who’s doing what. It’s always a pretty active place.”
That’s the way Georgeades likes it.
“The oil and gas people are great,” he says. “They always come, always eat and drink well. And Texas is a big, big commodity in Santa Fe. They always live well, they’re great people, and they have great attitudes.”
And what do they like?
“Everything,” Georgeades says.
A native of Idaho, he went to trade school to become a TV repairman. “That was when they had five tubes,” says Georgeades, 66.
He wound up working for Eastman Kodak, which brought him to Santa Fe in 1969. In 1976, he started a small bar, which he sold in 1979. “That worked out so well,” Georgeades says, “I thought I was a genius and went on to do something else.”
That “something else” turned out to be The Bull Ring.
“Every Greek’s supposed to have a restaurant,” he says. “That’s just what we did.”
So why not run a Greek restaurant?
“Because a steak house is a lot easier to operate.”
He hasn’t looked back since.
Georgeades credits his staff of 38 for the restaurant’s success. Manager Lisa Wilson “does a wonderful job, and we don’t have much turnover. We have a great staff, and we don’t have chefs. We have hard workers and great people.”
Another reason for the success, and the dealmaking, is that the restaurant is divided into two parts, the upscale dining room, and the lounge. “Our lounge is pretty powerful,” Georgeades says. “It’s like a Cheers atmosphere.”
“Both sides are active,” Henke says. “It’s acquired that reputation in Santa Fe, kind of the meeting place for people of influence, both in the political environment and the business and industry part of the state. I wouldn’t say that it’s the only place that oil and gas people meet to do business in Santa Fe, but it’s certainly one of them.”
But it’s the quality of the food that keeps people coming.
“We’ve been in business forever,” Georgeades says, “and [restaurants] come and go in this town.”
Tucked away at 150 Washington Avenue in the courtyard of the New Mexico Bank and Trust Building, The Bull Ring is open for lunch 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and dinner daily from 4-10 p.m., closed only on Christmas Day.
“As you buy quality stuff, and you do the same thing all the time and make it good, you’ll never have a problem in this business. I think The Bull Ring will be around for a long time,” Georgeades says. “This has been a thrill.”
Johnny D. Boggs (www.johnnydboggs.com) is a six-time Spur Award-winning Western novelist based in Santa Fe. His latest novel is And There I’ll Be a Soldier.