by Meryl Truett and John Dodge Meyer

After a four year absence, Jim McKeever and Alfredo Garcia-Lucio are thrilled to announce the return of Restaurante Néctar at Camino Silvestre, Correo 43 in Centro. We sat down with the boys recently and as you'll see, they've used the interim wisely. Néctar will have an expanded menu, now served in an indoor and outdoor setting and many events are planned with lots of additions to their eclectic store. Lets let them tell the story from the beginning.

Where and when did you two meet?

We met in Denver in 1991 the old-fashioned way... in a bar. We have been together since.

What originally brought you both to San Miguel?

We started our US wholesale company Parasol in 1997, manufacturing our hummingbird feeders in different cities in Mexico and exporting the components to our warehouse in Denver. About 25 years ago, we started working with Gorky González in Guanajuato who made ceramic hummingbird feeders for us, and soon after Guajuye, San Miguel's former glass factory approached us to start making our hummingbird feeders at their factory. We opened our Mexico warehouse next to their factory in 1998 and started exporting directly from Mexico to our customers in the States and Canada.

When did you open Camino Silvestre? How would you describe your aesthetic and what is your mission statement for the store?

We opened our first retail store on Zacateros in late 2010. We originally just wanted a place to sell our hummingbird feeders locally, because everyone in SMA – once they found out what we did for a living, wanted to buy them. We also approached our friends in the US gift and garden wholesale business and started importing beautiful wind chimes, candles, and other items that were unique to our store. Gorky González worked with Alfredo to design our own line of dinnerware with North American songbirds and hummingbirds and Charlie Hall created beautiful glass designs for us with beautiful hummingbirds feeding from flowers. We are lucky to still be working with all of these companies 14 years later.

We love beautiful and interesting design that is meant to last through time. When we opened our Correo store, we also started representing other artists that worked on alarger scale, including the world-famous photographer Maggie Taylor. Maggie will be here in San Miguel to have a special opening in our reopened Correo store on November 1. We are Maggie's only gallery in Latin America.

What other events do you have planned for the coming months at the store?

In October, Shirli Mercantil (handmade books, ceramics, and collage) will have an opening at our Correo store. Daniel Beltrán will be presenting new work for Day of the Dead and is preparing for a solo show in December. We are also very happy to be working with another famous San Miguel artist, Meryl Truett, on a show of her beautiful collages! On November 8, in the re-activation of our Salón series, Sandra Cisneros will have a very special limited-capacity presentation on creative writing; the first time she has presented this seminar in Mexico. All the proceeds from the ticket sales (US$100/$2000 pesos) are going to FELISMA, San Miguel's Spanish-language book fair. This will sell out fast, so tickets should be purchased in advance.

In December, we are honored that Adrian Ross will once again be joining us for an opening of new work of his wonderful and magical birds. We are planning even more exhibitions in both our Correo and Zacateros locations…stay tuned! And hopefully, in all of this craziness, Alfredo will have some time (is that possible?) to show more of his beautiful clothing and home accessories. They say there is no rest for the wicked … or it is the weary? We can't wait to see everyone at our openings, seminars, and Salons … the fun is just beginning (again.)

When did you open the original restaurant and describe your feelings about having to close for the pandemic?

We opened Néctar originally as a teahouse in the beautiful patio of our store on Correo 43. Alfredo and I would bring our lunches to the space each day, and the clients would tell the waiters, "I want what they're having." Our manager Juan Carlos Cuevas encouraged us to start with a simple lunch menu of soups, salads, and sandwiches and from there it just took off and became a full-fledged restaurant. We both follow a plant-based diet, and the menu at Néctar always reflects our choices of fruits, vegetables, grains and seeds for healthier living.

COVID was obviously a disaster for business in San Miguel. We tried to keep Néctar open, but with no clientele and eventually a government shutdown of restaurants in the city, we could not stay open, so we closed on April 2, 2020. It broke our hearts, but there was no other choice and by that time, we were in full lockdown. For many reasons, including a pandemic and a huge downturn in tourism (both national and international), we were not able to reopen until now.

Since you've decided to reopen on October 18th, how would you describe the new iteration of Néctar? Describe the menu offerings; the ambiance.

During the pandemic, we were able to work together on a large amount of plant-based dishes. We actually posted daily for over 700 days with different dishes, never repeating. Jim mainly cooked, and Alfredo baked. Jim finally had time to build the vegetable garden of his dreams and planted a huge variety of vegetables and tomatoes (woohoo!). It kept our minds fresh and our creativity flowing during a horrific time. You can see what we did during that time on Jim's Instagram: jim_camino

The "new" Néctar includes dishes that came from this period as well as many favorites from the past. We have worked to create a menu that reflects our healthy choices in living and eating, as well as working on dishes that reflect the needs and tastes of our customers. We want everyone to have an enjoyable time at Néctar; eat tasty and beautiful food, and see their friends (and meet new ones). We will still have teas, coffees, iced teas and glorious hot chocolate, all made without the horrible noise of blenders and espresso machines... noises that ruin a wonderful meal.

The exciting news is that we will now have indoor and outdoor seating. Our beautiful patio with its huge cherimoya tree and hummingbirds feeding about will remain the same. In addition, we will be using the beautiful front room of the store for indoor seating.

When and how did your interest in plant based diets originate? Why did you decide to add eggs to a vegan menu? Will you have gluten free options?

We started reading a lot about different diets about 14 years ago, and frankly, our change to a predominately vegan diet and plant-based diet came from overwork and too little time to make our own meals. We were eating very poorly and our energy levels (and waistlines!) showed it. Our good friend Alicia Rivero (DeliQ) started making vegan lunches for us and putting them in our refrigerator at the Zacateros store, so we would start eating better each day. (Thank you, Alicia!). From that initial encouragement (and rapid and obvious improvement in our health), we decided to go for it and live the rest of our lives with a predominately vegan diet.

We now use the term "plant-based" to explain our diets and our menu, because we are serving farm-fresh eggs from known ranches and also honey from our hives. Everything else, including our cheeses, sauces, dips, and desserts are completely made from plant-based products. We do not use eggs in our baked goods, so if anyone wants to substitute scrambled tofu or lentil tofu for anything, it is easy to do. We also use organic agave syrup for those who do not want to eat honey.

We have many gluten-free options on the menu, and many of our dishes have a gluten-free substitution. All you have to do is ask! This is also true for other food intolerances, allergies, and special diets including low-carbohydrate, nut & peanut allergies, KETO, salt-free, non-spicy, seed oil-free…you name it. Jim is allergic to peanuts, so he completely understands the problems people have eating out in restaurants … no matter where you are in the world.

Are you planning a soft opening for the restaurant?

We are not planning a grand opening party, because we have so much going on right now. Through hell or high water, we open(ed) on October on 18th. Our hours are 8:30am-5:30 pm with breakfast and lunch service Thursday through Sunday to start out, with the last seating at 4:30pm. On Sundays, we will close at 3pm. Soon, we will be open on Wednesday and Monday. Dinner service is planned for 2025.

What do you want people to know about the new restaurant?

Néctar was also a place to meet your friends and enjoy the "SMA of old" with simple, healthy and tasty food, desserts, teas and coffees with reasonable prices. We are happy to re-open Néctar with this same thought process in mind. We are excited to see old friends, new friends, and show off our wonderful new dishes. We look forward to seeing you, are waiting for you.

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Meryl Truett is a curator, gallerist, teacher, consultant, and artist. Meryl has exhibited extensively in the US and Europe. She has been widely published in numerous magazines such as Oxford American, The Vanderbilt Review, and Camera Austria. Her book Thump Queen and other Southern Anomalies is in its second printing. Her work is in the collections of major museums and corporations. She earned an MFA from Savannah College of Art and Design in 2003 with additional art training in France. Truett has extensive experience teaching at the college level and conducting photography, mixed media, and book publishing workshops. Artist fellowships include Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Le Moulin á Nef in Auvillar, France, and The Hambidge Center.

www.meryltruett.com
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John Dodge Meyer: I was raised in the Midwest, came of age in the mid 60's on the West Coast and moved South in that banner year 1968. I've been a television performer, an award winning video & film writer/producer/director/editor, a college professor, a sculptor, an historic preservationist and now a published writer. Some would say a "generalist." Others might call it a "dabbler." William Burroughs described it as "somewhere between the deviant and the dead from boredom!" Whatever it's called; what really matters are the stories. Now living in the high desert of Central Mexico, I write those stories, as Hank Williams would say, "the only way I know how."

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