By Faith Egbuonu
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ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (KOAT) — The wall toward the East Side of Lindy’s Diner collapsed on Monday, April 27, 2026, nearly one week after the City of Albuquerque red-tagged and shutdown the historic diner in southwest Albuquerque over safety concerns on Monday, April 20, 2026. According to Albuquerque Fire and Rescue, there were no injuries reported.
According to the City’s Code Enforcement Division Report, the red tag was issued for an “unsafe structure” inside of Lindy’s Diner. According to the owners, the building is 100-years-old. However, the restaurant opened in 1929 as Coney Island Cafe.
“We’re out here at Fifth and Central on scene of a building collapse. We had reports of a building collapse, and crews responded. We have crews from station one and station four here. Station four is our heavy technical rescue station,” Albuquerque Fire and Rescue Lt. Jason Fejer said during a press conference after the incident Monday morning.
“There are no reports of injuries. When crews arrived on scene, they confirmed that and then worked to start evacuating some of the adjoining structures of this building. So, structures have been evacuated,” Fejer said.”We need building engineers to come out at this point to actually evaluate the structure. You can see that East wall came down, and you can see that big crack by the other window. So, there is a threat that more of that wall,” Fejer told KOAT.
On Monday, KOAT spoke with co-owner Dawn Vatoseow shortly after the collapse. She and her husband, Steve Vatoseow, told KOAT they are heartbroken by the painful loss, but thankful there are no reported injuries, as both arrived to the chaotic scene.
“Thank God that no one was hurt. Nobody was close enough in proximity that—you know, there are tenants that are still in the building. That had until the end of the month to get out of there,” Vatoseow told KOAT. “It’s tragic. I’m sure that building will now be demolished. It’s a historic landmark. That’s 35 years of my life right there. Everybody’s safe. It was that one piece of wall. We have been working on it, and working on it, right up until today, to see what we needed to do with that.”
On Monday, architect and owner of 505 Central Food Hall Mark Baker, and his employees told KOAT they witnessed the aftermath of the building partially collapsing Monday morning. The Food Hall is adjacent from Lindy’s Diner on the Northwest side of Albuquerque.
“The bartender in our front bar spotted smoke come out on the side walk, and they can tell something had happened. The building probably collapsed. They ran to the back, and told another employee,” Baker told KOAT. “That employee came up to the architecture studio and told the architects, so we came out in the street and saw it, and right when we walked up— we still saw the smoke rising from the ashes.”
“The City’s Planning Department, through Code Enforcement, had been monitoring the property for several weeks because of structural safety concerns. Below is a timeline of the City’s response:
Code Enforcement did an external inspection of Lindy’s Diner on March 20, 2026, after a local news channel contacted the Planning Department regarding a tip they had received. Between March 21 and April 10, Code Enforcement also received two separate complaints through the City’s 311 system from two different parties concerning the property. Those complaints along with the initial inspection prompted an additional inspection of the building on April 2. Findings from that inspection warranted a more in-depth inspection, which was conducted on April 20 utilizing drone technology. Following the April 20 inspection, the property was red-tagged and issued an emergency shutdown order because of concerns the structure could collapse.
“We investigate these matters very carefully and that is why we ordered the closure and installed the safety fencing. However, we remain hopeful that some of the structure can be a safely restored so the building once again becomes an attractive landmark along Route 66.” — Planning Department Director Alan Varela
On Tuesday, April 21, 2026, KOAT spoke with co-owner Dawn Vatoseow on the sudden closure after the diner was red-tagged and shutdown by the City of Albuquerque. Vatoseow told KOAT they were aware of the structural concerns with the building and applied for grants through the City and State of New Mexico over the years, but to no avail.
The owners also sent KOAT documentation and e-mails of inquiries submitted for assistance with structural concerns in 2024. KOAT spoke with the City of Albuquerque on its reasoning for the red-tag a month after an initial inspection that addressed minimal concerns.
“Well, it certainly isn’t the way that we wanted to go out, that’s for sure. I would have liked to have gone out on our own terms and say goodbye to our customers. We appreciate each and every one of them, and we’re going to miss them so much. We have spent a lifetime serving Albuquerque and loving every minute of it,” Vatoseow told KOAT.
“We applied for grants. The grant process is not an easy process to do. Most of those grants have to be picked up by a municipality. They have to be the ones to apply for the grant. The money doesn’t come directly to you. It comes to the city of Albuquerque,” Vateseow said. “Then, they dispense it out to the people that have applied for those grants. It is a lengthy process and everything takes money. There’s only so much that you can afford to do without help trying to keep this building going.”
On Tuesday, KOAT reached out to the New Mexico Tourism Department for reasoning of denial for Vatoseow’s Route 66 Infrastructure grant— and many more, applied through the City of Albuquerque as well as assistance. Both statements are below.
“Code Enforcement’s initial inspection was just of the exterior of the building and of the roof. The findings from that inspection warranted a follow-up inspection which is what happened yesterday,” City of Albuquerque’s public information officer Tim Walsh said. “Code Enforcement found some pretty severely damaged lateral support and that is a life safety risk, so that’s why they had they had to issue the red tag.”
Vateseow disputed the City’s account, stating ” That is not true. They were inside of the place. They took pictures in the inside of the place. Two weeks ago, a week ago. It’s been a continual barrage,” Vatoseow said. “We have a few neighbors that continuously called several times a day, both of which wanted the building. So, they just got sick of the constant phone calls coming in and just said, ‘that’s it, we’re red tagging, fencing. Get a structural engineer over here.”
“We’ve had a structural engineer come in. He’s retired now, but he’s the one that worked on the building some years back. We put steel all the way around the inside of the dining room and the restaurant. It’s all the way around to hold the weight of the upstairs,” Vatoseow said. According to the City of Albuquerque, The City’s Code Enforcement Division conducted a follow-up inspection on Monday, April 20, 2026 after complaints submitted through 3-1-1 concerning the building’s condition which prompted an initial inspection last week.
“Local mom-and-pop businesses make our city so special, but we also have a legal and ethical responsibility to ensure that businesses are safe for everyone. While Lindy’s Diner is a treasured landmark, it was rightfully determined to be unsafe and uninhabitable under current conditions. We will do what we can to help keep Lindy’s and this historic corner.” —Alex Curtas, Communications Director for Mayor Tim Keller
City of Albuquerque Deputy Communications Director Mikayla Ortega confirmed the City of Albuquerque’s Planning Department proactively assisted Lindy’s Diner in applying for the ‘Preserve Route 66 Combined Grant’ in 2025. Ortega also sent to KOAT the following:
Please see below for a full assessment of Lindy’s applications and disbursements within the Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency:
This program was designed to reduce vacant ground-floor spaces downtown by supporting new businesses or expansions into vacant storefronts.
Lindy’s was awarded $35,000 to expand and open Narke. They received the first disbursement of $17,500 on March 9, 2022. Narke closed after only a few months, which put them out of compliance with the grant terms. As a result, they did not receive the remaining $17,500.
This program provides funding for exterior security cameras to improve safety.
Lindy’s was awarded and received $19,896.15 for security camera installation.
This was a matching grant program for property improvements aimed at enhancing building conditions and economic performance.
The program is now closed for applications. There is no record of an application from Lindy’s.
This program supports exterior improvements such as paint and murals within Metropolitan Redevelopment Areas.
The program recently closed, and awards have not yet been announced. There is no record of an application from Lindy’s.
“The Route 66 Centennial Grant program was a competitive grant where all applicants were required to provide detailed proposals for project goals. It was determined by the review process that this application provided an inadequate amount of information about how this project relates to specific goals stated in the program objectives. NMTD awarded this grant for two fiscal years.” — Cody Johnsons, Communications Director
“The Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency (MRA) routinely receives requests for assistance with renovations and repairs from privately owned businesses. In March 2026, MRA received an inquiry from real estate advisor Anthony Lotto, representing Steve and Dawn Vatoseow, inquiring about potential financial assistance from the City for repairs to Lindy’s Diner. The requested amount ranged from $1.5 million to $3.2 million.
Unfortunately, the City is unable to provide funding for major repairs to individually owned businesses due to budget constraints. Mr. Lotto was informed that the City does not have resources available at that level to support significant renovations; however, information was provided regarding the City’s seven-year tax abatement program.” — Operations Manager, Sarah Supple
Update: According to Vatoseow, Anthony Lotto is their Real Estate Agent. Vatoseow told KOAT he contacted MRA to inquire what funds would be available to anyone that purchased the building to rehab upstairs for housing. According to Vatoseow, the request was not for Lindy’s Diner.
Vatoseow told KOAT they will try to raise funds to address structural safety concerns with the City of Albuquerque. According to Vatoseow, the structural repairs will cost $250,000. According to the Code Enforcement notice, the owners have 14 days from the date of notice issued on April 20, 2026, to respond, submit structural engineer’s report, acquire a building permit, take corrective action and comply.
As of Tuesday evening, Vateseow told KOAT they don’t have access to the building. However, she was assured they would have access by 8 a.m. on Tuesday.
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