Mama Rosa's Pizza — Restaurant in Lordsburg

Very cute local restaurant adorned with Coca-Cola antiques, decent and affordable tasty food and plenty of potential. However, I think there is room for improvement.

My receipt notes the purchase of my hot sub @ 7:27pm. I received it at 8:07pm. 30 minutes seems like a bit of a wait for two pieces of bread, some sliced meat, lettuce, tomato, some Mayo and a packet of Lay's potato chips. (This Google listing has been posted for at least a couple of years. The hours say they are open until 9pm.)

Directly before I approached the counter, the phone rang. The cashier answered, "Mama Rosa's, please hold" and set the phone down robotically. I told her that she was welcome to address the phone customer. They were technically first and I respect that. I was happy to wait a couple of minutes to order. She said, "That's okay." I assumed she was making the physically present customer (me) the priority. But as time went on, I realized her motive was more clearly to defer as much traffic as possible. Correlating a few other reviews since then, that seems accurate based on the experiences of others.

As I waited a half of an hour for a sandwich, about six or seven eager new customers walked in the door. The "OPEN" sign was facing out and clearly visible on the entrance. As the customers approached the counter to order, the cashier tersely cut them off - "We're closed", she said - before they could order. Not, "Hi, good evening. I'm so sorry, we've just closed" or anything nearly reminiscent of what you might expect from a service industry professional. She simply cut them off and shut them down. To one, she recommended McDonald's. Oh joy.

Admittedly, this is my first and possibly only visit to Lordsburg, NM. I understand it is a very small town limited in dining options. I understand many foreigners pass through Lordsburg via foot traffic as a result of the Continental Divide Trail. This was made apparent by the blatantly positioned brochures placed on each tabletop printed in multiple languages explaining how American "tipping" culture worked and suggesting how much a person should pay Mama Rosa's in addition to their listed purchase price on their menu.

As standalone act, I respect the business's gesture to protect the wages of their employees. But given the context of the current customer service experience they offer, it's more readily interpreted by an out-of-towner as a gouge.

I have personally worked for tips the majority of my life (including working abroad in Guatemalan restaurants), where "tipping" is as foreign to locals down there as Martian language is up here. I know very well what it's like to be nearly closed for the night and receive a last minute wave of customers. Mama Rosa's acts as though they have a monopoly in town and will choose whether or not they want to serve people on a whim. This is why I can confidently say that it felt like I was inconveniencing them with my business. Not to worry! I won't be back.

So if you're looking to wait a half an hour for forgettable food in a poorly ventilated smokey hut by wait staff that barely gives a hoot - look no further! This...

After a training event on Labor Day, we looked for an open restaurant in Lordsburg. Calling Mama Rosa's we found they were open. A gravel parking lot next to a shabby building greeted us. Entering the building, stacks of unused booth parts were stacked to our left with an opening to the rest rooms. The four of us sat at one of the maybe 5 open booths and were quickly met with a friendly fellow who asked for our drink orders. He brought drinks quickly and asked for our order. Writing it all down, he went towards the kitchen. Our orders came out within a reasonable time as there were now 8 other customers, some with carry out orders, some at other booths. Two flavors of wings, Jalapeno poppers and pepperoni sticks came out first and ... they were EXCELLENT ! A hot ham and cheese sub was next ... large portions of fresh ham, lettuce, tomato on what could have been outstanding homemade bread ... again, EXCELLENT ! Then, two small pizzas, both on thin and crispy crust with just the right amount of everything ! Not to much cheese, perfect sauce, generous but not overloaded pepperoni, ham, beef, Italian Sausage and BACON :-) What a great way to end an intense training weekend. Forget the atmosphere star ... it's the flavors, portions and quality that matter. So... if traveling through Lordsburg in the future, we are going to call and make sure Mama's is open, then plan our meals so we stop at Mama Rosa's... Don't look at the outside, enjoy...

Service was good, I ordered a rather annoying order because my fiancé and I have different eating habits and they completed it perfectly. The inside of the restaurant is extremely clean, well maintained and very comfortable, retro even. Now to the best part: the food. This is probably some of the best pizza I’ve ever had, the crust is crispy and soft, not soggy, the cheese blend is good and the sauce is perfectly portioned. The toppings I got were all fresh and high quality. The person working the counter took care of my order and made conversation. The cook even came out from the back while someone was on the phone with an order and after hearing just their name knew exactly what to make, telling me that they take care of...