The Chile Pod

What The Chile Pod does

The Chile Pod is a privately held, single-location casual restaurant founded by Monica Shultz in March 2016 at 121 W Main Street in historic downtown Farmington, New Mexico. The business serves authentic New Mexican cuisine built around a 120-year-old family chile recipe — now prepared gluten-free — using house-made ingredients and protein sourced from RedBird Farms (antibiotic-free, hormone-free, vegetarian-fed chicken). Its menu spans appetizers ($3.95–$19), lunch items ($13–$19), dinner entrees ($16–$52.95, including a $52.95 bone-in ribeye), kids' meals, and a packaged $44.95 Family Size Dinner for 4–6 people. The restaurant also produces an award-winning mac and cheese line with three festival-champion variants (Red Chile, Jalapeño Popper, Green Chile).

Name

The Chile Pod

Website

https://cravethechilepod.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Chile Pod is a single-location, family-operated New Mexican restaurant in historic downtown Farmington, NM, serving authentic red and green chile cuisine, award-winning mac and cheese, and family dinner packages to local residents and corporate catering clients since 2016.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

New Mexican Restaurant

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Caterers (72232)

akta.pro primary industry

Ethnic & Regional Cuisine Restaurants (THAFACAD)

Keywords

• New Mexican cuisine
• Authentic restaurant dining
• Family dinner packages
• Catering services
• Comfort food restaurant

Headquarters

HQ city

Farmington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Dine-in Restaurant Sales: Revenue generated from customers dining in the historic downtown Farmington location. Operating hours Tuesday through Saturday 11am-9pm, closed Mondays and Sundays.
2. Takeout and Online Ordering: Takeout orders placed via phone (505-258-4585) or online through Clover ordering platform. Customers can order pickup online.
3. Catering Services: Catering services offered for corporate events, families, and groups. Family Size Dinner option available for $44.95, feeds 4-6 people.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Chile Pod is a brick-and-mortar New Mexican restaurant that prepares and serves authentic New Mexican cuisine built on 120-year-old family red and green chile recipes. It generates revenue through dine-in service at its historic downtown Farmington location, takeout via phone and the Clover online ordering platform, family dinner package sales, and catering for corporate events and private functions.

Product overview

The Chile Pod is an award-winning New Mexican restaurant located in historic downtown Farmington, New Mexico, operating since March 2016. The restaurant's core offering is authentic New Mexican cuisine built around its signature 120-year-old family red and green chile recipes, offered as both individual menu items and combination plates. The product portfolio includes: signature burrito plates, award-winning mac and cheese varieties (Red Chile, Jalapeño Popper, and Green Chile), specialty dinner entrees such as the El Patron Leopoldo ribeye and Spicy Queso Chicken, specialty burgers, appetizers, and family dinner packages. The restaurant also offers online ordering and catering services. The cuisine emphasizes house-made, quality ingredients including RedBird Farms chicken (antibiotic-free, hormone-free, vegetarian-fed) and gluten-free red and green chile recipes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• New Mexican Cuisine (Dine-in Restaurant Meals) Authentic New Mexican cuisine served in-house at the Farmington restaurant, including red and green chile plates, burritos, enchiladas, tacos, chile rellenos, and combination plates, prepared from 120-year-old family recipes now made gluten-free. Targeted at local diners, families, and visitors to the Four Corners region.
• Catering & Corporate Events Catering services for corporate events, business meetings, family gatherings, and private functions, ordered by contacting the restaurant directly by phone (505-258-4585) or email ([email protected]). Targeted at businesses, organizations, families, and groups in the Farmington area.
• Online Pickup Ordering

Quantifiable outcome

• 4 consecutive years People's Choice Winner at local chile cook-offs
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Garcia's Kitchen: Long-established New Mexican restaurant chain headquartered in Albuquerque, NM. Operates multiple full-service locations serving authentic New Mexican cuisine (red/green chile, burritos, enchiladas) to local community and family diners in the same regional market category as The Chile Pod.
• Frontier Restaurant: Iconic New Mexican full-service restaurant in Albuquerque, NM, family-owned and operating for decades with strong community brand recognition and award-winning traditional chile-based cuisine. Highly comparable to The Chile Pod on heritage positioning, family operation, and authentic New Mexican menu.
• Sadie's of New Mexico: Albuquerque-based New Mexican restaurant famous for its award-winning salsa and traditional red/green chile menu. Directly comparable to The Chile Pod as an independently owned, multi-generational New Mexican restaurant with strong local brand recognition built on signature chile recipes.
• The Range Cafe: New Mexico-based independent full-service restaurant serving New Mexican and Southwestern cuisine, with multiple locations and a community-oriented brand. Comparable to The Chile Pod as a regional, independently operated restaurant group with a New Mexican cuisine focus.
• Twisters: New Mexico-headquartered regional restaurant chain serving burgers and New Mexican food across multiple locations. Comparable to The Chile Pod on regional New Mexico brand identity and cuisine category, but operates at a multi-unit scale rather than a single location.
• El Patio: Albuquerque, NM full-service New Mexican restaurant offering traditional chile-based dishes in a family-friendly setting. Directly comparable to The Chile Pod on cuisine category, full-service dining format, and family/local customer base in the New Mexico market.

Broad incumbents

• Chipotle Mexican Grill: National fast-casual Mexican restaurant chain with broad geographic coverage and digital ordering infrastructure. Comparable to The Chile Pod as a Mexican-cuisine restaurant operator with dine-in and online pickup, but operates at vastly larger scale and a different price/service tier (fast-casual vs. full-service).
• Taco Cabana: Texas-headquartered regional Mexican restaurant chain with multiple locations serving Tex-Mex food in a similar dine-in/takeout format. Comparable to The Chile Pod as a broader Mexican-cuisine restaurant operator, but serves a different geography (Texas vs. New Mexico) and operates at significantly larger scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-chile-pod

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Chile Pod