by Jeremy Hunt
Daily Lobo
A mobile police command truck is helping Frontier Restaurant stay open 24 hours on the weekends by deterring drunks from starting trouble.
Frontier closed its doors from 1:30 to 4 a.m. Friday through Sunday for the first time in 15 years two weekends ago. It stayed open last weekend because the substation was parked outside the restaurant on Cornell Drive from about 11 p.m. to 4 a.m.
It does not cost the city more money to have the mobile substation parked outside Frontier because it costs the same to operate it anywhere in the city, said John Walsh, spokesman for the Albuquerque Police Department.
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Walsh said he does not know how long the mobile substation will be outside Frontier, but it will stay there for at least a few more weeks.
The mobile substation will not take police away from other responsibilities because it functions the same no matter where it is, he said.
Larry Rainosek, co-owner of the Frontier, said the mayor's office put him in touch with APD to figure out what could be done to keep it open 24 hours, seven days per week.
"The city's taking a good position," Rainosek said. "This is a vibrant area that needs significant police presence."
Walsh said Mayor Martin Chávez realized something needed to be done in that area after Frontier reduced its hours.
"The actual target here is intoxicated individuals creating a disturbance in a central area along the University corridor on Central Avenue," Walsh said. "Any business member of the community, when they feel the need to alter their practices, is great concern for police
officers."
Chávez's office did not return calls Friday.
Walsh said the truck is a substation on wheels, so officers can do police work while focusing on a section of the city.
"The officers need to do correspondence, file police reports, getting information and checking in and out no matter what," he said. "We maneuver this around on a regular basis."
Student Robyn Miller said Frontier Restaurant needs to be open 24 hours on the weekends because it's when most people go.
"I would never use it during the week," she said. "All this weekend, we were like 'Where are we going to go, you guys? Frontier is closed.'"
The city has four or five mobile substations active all the time and has used them to address crime in the Nob Hill area and around Winrock and Coronado malls,
Walsh said.
Rainosek said the police presence allows the restaurant to do late-night business on the weekends without being disturbed.
"If people feel that we should be open, and we can be open, we will try to provide that service," he said. "What we've actually done is identify a spot that will need a little more attention for a period of time."
Student Jen Hale said she was upset when Frontier announced reduced hours.
"I know they closed for security purposes, but I've never felt in danger," she said.
Walsh said the mobile substation will reduce dispatch calls in the University area. The highly visible police presence will help the restaurant's private security maintain control inside and out,
Walsh said.
"The purpose of having mobile command point is to bring officers into an area," he said. "The presence of the police has the reciprocal effect of reducing calls for service and criminal activity."
Hale said the restaurant comes in handy to UNM students because of its location and hours.
"It's nice to have that option," she said. "If you're at a party, and you don't want to be there, come
to Frontier."
Rainosek said the mobile substation was effective over the weekend.
"It kept things very much under control," he said. "They arrested two people for DUI on
Friday night."
Frontier saw about 30 percent less business than usual Saturday night, but Rainosek expects it to pick up, he said.
Miller said drunken people in the restaurant are better than drunken people in cars.
"If someone comes in intoxicated," she said, "they're just sitting here eating, rather than being out on the streets."
