PAUL AND JESSICA WIREMAN weren’t looking to open an eatery when they moved to New Mexico in 2022. But the restaurateurs, who’d previously owned both Trio: An American Bistro and Local Restaurant & Bar, in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, saw a need in Eldorado and an opportunity in the former Arable space.
“Paul has a true passion for creating delicious food for the people he loves and for the wider community,” Jessica says. “Even on his days off from the restaurant, he invites family and friends to gather over meals out at our house.” The Wiremans have translated that welcoming approach to Fable Restaurant & Market, an elevated American-style bistro that opened in March. The market debuted two months prior with freshly prepared heat-and-eat take-home meals and shelves stocked with handmade cookware, books, and packaged foodstuffs.
Co-owners (from left) Calvin Lazo, Paul Wireman, and Jessica Wireman.
Photograph courtesy of Fable.
Brick walls with abstract art give Fable a bohemian vibe as couples and foursomes talk softly at the 10 tables of warm dark wood, or in booths along the picture-window facade. Outside, patrons linger over drinks on a leafy courtyard patio. “The aesthetic was already partially defined when we took over the space,” Jessica says, noting they moved to a cooler color palette for a more modern farm-to-table look.
The Wiremans’ journey started during the Covid-19 pandemic. When it hit, they sold their restaurants, bundled up their two children, son Harrison, now six, and daughter Olive, now 10, in a Sprinter van and traveled the country. “Nine months, 30 states,” Paul says. Santa Fe was one of the family’s first stops. “The kids kept talking about it,” he recalls. “It was so fun.”
They settled in Lamy three years ago. “It checked a lot of boxes,” Paul adds. But the area south of Santa Fe lacked the kind of place that fit their vision—a fun, playful bistro with an ever-evolving menu. “Our six-year-old named the restaurant,” Jessica says. At first, Harrison wanted to call it the Wolf and the Raven, referencing two animals familiar to anyone in the northern Rocky Mountains. But then a similarly named spot opened in Santa Fe’s Hotel St. Francis, so they decided on Fable instead.
The menu features 28-day dry-aged steaks.
Photograph courtesy of Fable.
Paul and fellow chef and co-owner Calvin Lazo share a similar passion for their craft, sourcing mostly local ingredients that are sustainably raised. “Spending many summers near Memphis with my grandparents taught me early on the value of cultivating your own food,” Paul says. “Now, in Santa Fe’s high desert, I’m back to gardening and engaging with local farmers at markets.”
On a recent summer evening, the kitchen turned out a smoky tomato fennel soup, a 28-day dry-aged New York strip steak grilled to a lovely char over tender pink meat, and golden empanadas stuffed with ground beef, pork, apricots, and raisins that packed umami flavors with a hint of fruity sweetness.
“What we all enjoy most about the restaurant is the community that it brings together,” Jessica says, “a gathering place where great food, drink, and stories are shared.”
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