FOOD

Other La Luz restaurants say outbreak at Old Town restaurant is hurting business

Jacob Laxen
The Coloradoan

Business has stalled at Fort Collins and Loveland La Luz Mexican Grill locations after a separate restaurant operation of the same name was plagued with a recent salmonella outbreak.

Owners and married couple Brian and Ermie Miller said they have temporarily closed their La Luz restaurant at 1518 N. Madison Ave. in Loveland because business has been so slow. They plan to reopen the spot.

La Luz Mexican Grill has operated at 140 E. Boardwalk Drive since 2004.

Their other location at 140 E. Boardwalk Drive in Fort Collins is still open but has seen a sharp decline in sales since the outbreak at the since-closed Old Town Fort Collins La Luz was made public in late August.

“It has hurt our business significantly,” Brian said. “It is unfortunate people have been associating our name with it.”

The Millers learned of the outbreak in the newspaper and have made multiple social media posts attempting to explain that they are a different operation.

“We are trying to get the word out so our business will no longer have to suffer,” Ermie said. “It’s been a scary situation for us, to be honest.”

La Luz Mexican Grill offers fast casual counter service with different burritos and tacos.

The Boardwalk location received a routine surprise health inspection on Aug. 24, shortly after the Old Town outbreak, and received an “excellent” rating — the highest of five possible ratings given by the Larimer County Health Department.

The Loveland location last received a routine surprise inspection on May 3 and was rated as “good.”

“We have always paid real close attention to everything that goes on in our kitchen,” Ermie said.

The Millers purchased the Boardwalk location in spring 2011 — they had been regulars at the spot that opened in 2004.

The couple changed up the menu, added their own recipes and have operated independently of the Old Town location ever since.

The Millers opened the Loveland location in 2016.

The fast casual restaurants with counter service are especially known for their salsa bars, breakfast burritos, potato burritos, chile rellenos and fish tacos.

The operation employs about 15 people between the two locations.

La Luz Mexican Grill has operated at 140 E. Boardwalk Drive since 2004.

“We’ve had a big customer base,” Ermie said. “We’ll be watching to see if business comes back and if customers embrace us once again.”

The Boardwalk La Luz is open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.