Tim's Place in Albuquerque

On a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is a $100 buffet with the worst food in the world and 10 is a free buffet with the world's best food, Tim's place in Albuquerque ranks a 7.

Though you could easily find cheaper fast food-style meals elsewhere, Tim's place was fun to go to because it is such a uniquely friendly and happy environment. The prices were reasonable and the experience was unlike any other restaurant we've ever been to.

A Bit of His Story:
Tim's story is one of living off of dreams rather than the expectations of others. Tim was born in 1986 with Down's Syndrome. He graduated from Eldorado High School in Albuquerque in 2004 having been voted Homecoming King by the highest margin the school had ever seen. Likewise, he was given the honor of being named Student of the Year his senior year.

Living off of his dream to own a restaurant and the Disney quote, "if you can dream it, you can do it," Tim went to Eastern New Mexico University and in 2008, graduated with certificates in Food Service, Office Skills, and Restaurant Hosting. For a while, he alternated between working as a host at Applebee's and living with his parents on a sailboat in the Bahamas.

In October 2010, Tim officially opened his own restaurant Tim's Place with the special menu of "breakfast, lunch, and hugs." He has been visited by people all over the country looking to dine in the one and only restaurant owned by a person with this disability. He started the Tim's Big Heart Foundation in 2004 to help others with intellectual disabilities to realize their entrepreneurial dreams. He also travels around to give talks about his story and has been featured on many national radio and news stations. Check out his website http://www.timsplace.com/ to learn more about Tim!

Our Experience:
Tim's place was such a cute place to go. We entered and were warmly greeted and seated (unfortunately Tim was not there the day we went). Our server had a great homemade name tag letting us know that her name was Sarah. She gave us menus and went to go get our water. The menu was filled with delicious sounding sandwiches, salads, and other New Mexican foods like burritos and the "Albuquerque Turkey" Sandwich. We loved how the prices were so simple, generally being $9, $10, or $11 exactly. We were able to order quickly and as we waited for our food we were able to look around at the various wall decorations including Tim's Special Olympic trophies, High School Letterman Jacket. pictures of him at the Bahamas, and with pictures of some of the famous hugs he has given. Did I forget to mention, the water came with bendy straws?!!

  The food was delivered after about 10 minutes and we enjoyed a very delicious. I got a New Mexico Burger and Orrin got Tim's Reuben. The food was absolutely delicious and we were quite stuffed by the end. The best part is that the french fries we were given were the delicious kind with a little bit of crunch on the outside and a light taste of seasoned salt. We left very satisfied.

As we were preparing to leave, Sarah gave us the news that Tim's Place will be closing in about a month. She said that Tim has a cute love story and he is will be following his girlfriend to Denver, Colorado. She said it would not be surprising to hear of him opening up a Tim's Place there. The news is exciting for him, but we felt grateful we had heard of and got to experience this wonderful place before it closed!

Prices
Each of our meals were $10 plus tax
~$22 for the both of us