HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
+ 2 further entries on record
Restaurant in an early-eighteenth-century adobe hacienda in Old Town Albuquerque, one of the oldest residences in the city, associated with the long-running ghost story of Sara Ruiz.
2111 Church Street NW, Albuquerque, NM 87104
Research updated October 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Casual sit-down restaurant; lunch and dinner pricing typical for Old Town.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Old Town adobe complex; some uneven flagstone in the courtyard.
Equipment
Photos OK
Among the oldest residences in Albuquerque · Eighteen-room adobe hacienda in continuous Ruiz family ownership until 1991 · Adjacent to San Felipe de Neri Church in Old Town · Operating as Church Street Cafe since the early 1990s
The Casa de Ruiz at 2111 Church Street NW sits a short walk north of the Old Town Albuquerque plaza. The adobe hacienda is of uncertain construction date, built sometime after 1706, making it one of the oldest residences in Albuquerque and among the oldest standing buildings in New Mexico. The Ruiz family lived in the eighteen-room complex in continuous family succession for nearly three centuries.
The final family resident was Rufina G. Ruiz, who lived in the home until her death in 1991. After her passing, the property was purchased and converted into Church Street Cafe, a sit-down New Mexican restaurant that preserves much of the original adobe complex including a central courtyard. The cafe markets itself on its history as much as its food, and the Ruiz lineage is foregrounded in its public materials.
The building's age, continuous family ownership, and location adjacent to the historic San Felipe de Neri Church place it among the most-cited heritage structures in the Old Town district.
Sources
According to Church Street Cafe's own published account, the building is associated with Sara Ruiz, identified by the cafe as the mother of the final Ruiz family resident. Reports describe Sara as a poltergeist figure who throws silverware, slams doors, and hides keys. The cafe's published anecdote describes a family member, Jim, who locked up one evening, could not find his keys, apologized aloud to Sara, and found the keys returned to his pocket; on leaving he said 'Goodnight, Sara' as lights illuminated unexpectedly in the front room.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that the current owner has heard Sara's voice yelling at a contractor during renovations, and that tour guides advise visitors to say 'Goodnight, Sara' before leaving to avoid having her 'follow you home.' US Ghost Adventures' Old Town tour stop describes Sara as inhabiting the eighteen-room hacienda with reports of tossed silverware, moved tools, and rearranged dolls.
The legend is single-family in origin — most reports trace to the cafe and the Ruiz family's own accounts — but it is one of the most documented and longest-running ghost stories in Old Town, with the venue itself publishing and standing by the account.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Eat in the historic Casa de Ruiz adobe complex in Old Town Albuquerque. The cafe publishes the ghost story of Sara Ruiz on its website and staff are typically willing to share the lore with interested guests.
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This Albuquerque tour includes Church Street Cafe (Casa de Ruiz) on its route.
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Albuquerque, NM
High Noon Restaurant & Saloon opened in 1974 in an adobe building dating to between roughly 1750 and 1785 on San Felipe Street NW, just west of the Old Town Albuquerque plaza. The structure has served as a private residence, trading post, gambling parlor, brothel, Spanish furniture workshop, and apartment building before its conversion to a restaurant.
Mesilla, NM
The Double Eagle Restaurant occupies a large adobe structure on the Historic Old Mesilla Plaza that was built during the Mesilla boom period of the 1840s and is acknowledged as the oldest building in Old Mesilla. The Mesilla Plaza was the site where the Gadsden Purchase was formally transferred from Mexico to the United States. The Maes family relocated from Santa Fe to Mesilla following the Mexican-American War of 1846–1848 and occupied the building through the mid-19th century.
Mesilla, NM
El Patio Cantina at 2171 Calle de Parian has operated on Historic Old Mesilla Plaza for approximately 75 years, making it one of the longest-running establishments in the region. The site is adjacent to the former Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach line's regional offices, a connection that places the property within the 1850s–1860s commercial infrastructure of Mesilla when the town was a critical waystation on the southern mail route.