“We’ve negotiated problems before and we’ll do it again,” Mike Cheney said Tuesday, as he and his wife Denni’s home and business were threatened by the South Fork Fire.
He applied his comment both to the Ruidoso community, and to his family’s life.
In 2020-21, the business they had owned for less than two years, Win Place & Show Bar & Package Liquor Store, in Midtown Ruidoso, had to close for more than 400 days due to New Mexico’s COVID-19 restrictions.
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Ruidoso itself was hard hit by the pandemic, as health restrictions affected businesses and tourism reduced to a trickle.
Then in September 2022, the Cheneys lost their daughter, Morgan, at age 32. Morgan grew up with cystic fibrosis, but a double-lung transplant improved her health enough that she could be an important part of the new family business.
“We really didn’t buy the bar because we always wanted to buy a bar,” Cheney said. “We bought the bar because we needed to buy ourselves a job.”
Prior to purchasing the bar, the Cheneys had both quit their jobs to help Morgan through surgery and recovery.
Morgan got better and joined her parents at Win Place & Show, serving as marketing director, and was instrumental in the addition of the bar’s patio and axe-throwing feature.
“We had a lot of fun,” Cheney said. “Morgan got to bartend and was one of our original axe-masters. She taught people to throw, she had a lot of energy, and was smiling all the time.”
But in late 2021 and early 2022, Morgan began experiencing rejection with her transplant. “We lost her on Labor Day of 2022,” Cheney said. “She knew she had a huge impact on the business.”
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The bar’s outdoor space now bears her name: Morgan’s Patio.
The last couple of years, things at Win Place & Show ramped up. The outdoor stage was completed last year, giving younger, newer musicians a place to play.
“It’s been really popular,” Cheney said.
The Cheneys’ son, Brandon, manages some Ruidoso rental properties for the family.
In other words, things were getting back to normal.
“We were just getting started this year with the tourism season,” Cheney said. “And then this fire, just out of the blue, has completely derailed us.
“This community grows from 15,000 to 50,000 in the summer,” Cheney said. “For so many of our businesses, if you miss a weekend you miss a lot. For us, we do 80 percent of our business from May through September.”
As of this writing, no one can predict how many weekends the businesses of Ruidoso will miss due to the fires. Things could change a great deal. The Cheneys’ business, and their home, appeared okay at the time of this interview, but they know things can change quickly with the fire.
Amid the uncertainty, however, Cheney remains optimistic.
“This fire is bad, about the worst you could expect,” he said. “But I have faith and confidence our community will rebuild.”
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He spoke of Ruidoso’s spirit, and its underlying resilience.
“It’s really neat to be in Midtown, to be out there in the morning and wave to everyone,” Cheney said. “Most of these businesses are truly mom-and-pops. We need the tourists, of course, but the locals are very important and everybody appreciates that strong local support.
“And that extends to the regional area,” he said. “I think it’s amazing all the support and help in this fire, coming from Las Cruces, Roswell, Alamogordo, El Paso, Tularosa and all over.”
Cheney knows the comeback will be a struggle, but Ruidoso, as well as his own family, has met struggles before and done what needed to be done. He only needs to think of his daughter, Morgan, and her smiling positivity in the face of difficulty.
“Things are always reminding us of her, in a good way.”
Richard Coltharp is editor and publisher of the Ruidoso News and the Alamogordo News. He can be reached at rcoltharp@elritomedia.com.