His eyes were scanning the room like lasers, checking the steaks coming out of the kitchen, the rolls in their little baskets, the place settings on the tables, the interaction between the customers at the door and the hostess who greeted them. When some tiny detail wasn quite right, he moved swiftly to fix it.The restaurant was La Ventana, which the clerk at the motel had assured us was the place to eat in Grants, a sprawling city of nearly 10,000 in New Mexico high desert. Occasional bursts of lightning streaked from the sky, illuminating a parking lot crowded with trucks and dusty cars. Inside, the cheap nfl jerseys wholesale evening dinner production moved smoothly under owner Ray Renon careful direction.Even a tired newcomer like me could see that the restaurant was more than a paycheck to Renon and I wanted to know why.We got together to talk the next morning, just before La Ventana regulars started arriving for lunch. Renon, 51, serves at least 300 customers a day. Some folks come in for lunch three or four times a week, he said. Some stop by for dinner every night.The key to the restaurant success isn just good food, but great service, he said. Managing La Ventana is like being an actor onstage, and he looks forward cheap nfl football jerseys wholesale to every performance. At a recent sevencourse wine dinner, Renon received a standing ovation for his roasted red bell pepper soup.a happy man, he said, leaning back in his chair in one of La Ventana banquet rooms. eight years I will have everything paid for. My house, the restaurant everything. most American success stories, Renon began with a business failure.His father died young, and he was raised in Colorado by his mother, who struggled to make ends meet. In 1980, he and his wife moved to Grants, where she worked as a specialeducation teacher and he managed a grocery store.Since college, though, Renon had dreamed of having his own restaurant. He did all the cooking for his roommates, and so many of their friends started showing up for Sunday dinner that they had to charge for the groceries.In the late 1980s, Renon dream seemed to come true. He became partners with Bill Sorensen, La Ventana owner, and things went so well that they started another restaurant in Gallup, 60 miles away.didn have enough capital. By the end of three years, I was $1 away from food stamps. got out of the restaurant business. had to make money, he said. was dead broke. in 2001, Sorensen offered to sell him La Ventana, and Renon quickly agreed. hocked everything we had to buy it. looks toward the future and sees only good things for his restaurant and the town he loves.More businesses are coming to Grants, drawn by the proximity of the railroad and Interstate 40, which runs along the south side of town. A second coal mine will soon open, and there talk of opening some of the uranium mines that made Grants a boomtown in the 1950s. The casino on the nearby Acoma Indian Reservation is also bringing in business.Since the casino opened, three people he knows have lost their businesses because they couldn control their gambling.He doesn much care for the war in Iraq.And he like to see health care reform. With the current system, he can afford to offer his employees health insurance. I did, I couldn operate, he said.What really worries Renon, though, is water, which is an increasingly precious commodity in his part of America.think our grandchildren are going to be fighting each other over water, he said. going to be a huge issue. Renon is optimistic. Hard work and perseverance helped him achieve his dream. And he certain hard work and perseverance will help his children generation meet the challenges that lie ahead.I am sorry we missed you during your trip through New Mexico. I am also from San Diego and attended Crawford High school in 19641966. Crawford High's website is how I saw this article. I relocated here 17 years ago to take over the "world famous" Los Ojos Restaurant and Saloon. One of the oldest Bars in New Mexico, located in the Jemez Mountains 60 miles northwest of Albuquerque. We were voted one of the best bars in America by Esquire Magazine in June, 2006. Many Newspapers including the Albuq. Journal, Sunset magazine and many others have written articles about our unique place in a small town of 350 people in the beautiful Jemez Mountains. Los Ojos Restaurant is a woman owned and operated business which was a first for Jemez Springs in those days and being a native San Diegan it was quite the culture shock for me. Anyway, check out Jemez Springs, New Mexico and on your next zigzag accross the country zig here for some great fun and relaxing times.