For folks familiar with recent Cortez business icons, brace yourself: New management is looking to reopen the long-abandoned M&M truck stop.
The once-popular restaurant, gas station and convenience store at U.S. Highway 491 and County Road G closed in 2001. It was abandoned, went into tax default and has been deteriorating ever since.
Consultants for the property, Ruff-Rhodes LLC, of Houston, Texas, report the plan is to return the property to its former glory.
“We’ve been working on the site the last year-and-a-half and aim to get the restaurant back open,” Tommy Ruff told The Journal in a telephone interview on Tuesday.
He wants to remake the entire truck stop – the restaurant, fuel pumps, bathrooms and store.
“We have been visiting Cortez quite a bit, and the fact this site is on a major north-south freeway makes it an ideal business opportunity,” Ruff said.
He said its location next to the port of entry provides trucking customers.
Ruff envisions a 24-hour eatery serving homestyle fare, including steaks, sandwiches, omelets, biscuits and gravy, pancakes and coffee.
“We want to copycat what was there before,” he said. “We’re proud to help revitalize the corridor leading into Cortez.”
It won’t happen overnight.
Permit reviews need to be completed, according to the Montezuma County planning office, and the status of the M&M ownership is not a done deal.
According to public records with the Montezuma County treasurer’s office, the M&M restaurant is owned by Abas Energy Inc., of Ontario, California.
But in 2011, the company became delinquent on the property’s taxes, and the M&M went to a tax lien sale. An investment firm took over the annual tax payments and is eligible to apply for a treasurer’s deed to become outright owners.
A petroleum spill on the property in the 1990s was not mitigated, and it prompted a civil lawsuit by the Colorado Division of Oil and Public Safety in 2015. Cleanup costs are estimated at $300,000 to $500,000, according to state environmental officials.
“We would like to encourage them in any way we can to bring a viable business back there,” said Montezuma County Commissioner Keenan Ertel. “It has been an eyesore for too long.”
jmimiaga@the-journal.com
