Santa Fe restaurant serves as landing path for former inmates reentering society
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He came to the restaurant straight from the state prison, dropped off with nothing more than a bag of belongings and the shirt on his back. 'They brought me here, introduced me to the Escondido family, we ate,' said Sork. He landed the gig while still in prison.
He had signed up for a culinary course brought in by the new non-profit, Entrepreneurial Institute of Northern New Mexico. The non-profit was created by three-time Food Network Champion Chef Fernando Ruiz and his business partner, Ralph Martinez. 'We go into the prison three nights a week, 6:00-10:30 p.m. We always walk out just as inspired as the participants that we teach,' said Martinez.
He said the inmates who participate in the course are usually close to their release. While a restaurant was never part of the plan, the cooking course brought the perfect ingredients to open Escondido in August. 'It was right on time for us to start capturing individuals coming out of our cohorts, that graduated from our cohorts, and using this as a landing path,' said Martinez.
It's a fragile transition, both Martinez and Chef Ruiz know all too well. 'I went to prison for trafficking guns and drugs in Arizona twice. I've been shot, I've been stabbed,' said Chef Ruiz.
He said it was food and cooking that helped him turn his life around. For him, this is a way to give back to people reentering to the outside and break the cycle of ending back up on the inside. 'He has no family support, no money, no ID, no bank account. Where do you think he's going to be in the first two weeks or thirty days?' said Chef Ruiz. 'We know where he's going to end up.'
More than half of Chef Ruiz's staff share a similar story. 'I mean, I got guys walking around with ankle monitors. Their probation officers show up and have dinner, just check on them. We hang out with their POs and let them know how they're doing,' he said. 'It's a restaurant but it's become a little more than a restaurant.'
This time around, Sork said he feels accepted. 'It's like a God sent. This time I've had so much support,' he said. 'These people have accepted me with open arms. At the end of the day, I'm really happy I stayed in Santa Fe.'
Sork and Chef Ruiz noted how the Santa Fe community has received this restaurant and why it's important to support inmates reentering the community. 'You're going to interact with these people, they might move into your same neighborhoods…just to be more empathetic and support things like this, because it does help the community as a whole,' said Sork.
So, when lunchtime hits at Escondido in Santa Fe, you'll see cook Sork in the kitchen. But if you look a little harder, you'll see what they're really offering: redemption and hope. 'Most definitely, I'd call this a second chance…this is the best opportunity I've ever had. like they've walked me into success,' said Sork. 'You know, the sky is the limit.'
Chef Ruiz said the restaurant is named Escondido because it means hidden in Spanish, which was a pillar of his lifestyle when he was in drugs. He also liked that it had the word 'con' in it. Chef Ruiz and Martinez are also working to expand their culinary courses to more prisons in the state.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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