Joe's not opening quite yet

The reopening of Joe’s Back in the Day Diner slated for May is delayed indefinitely.

The restaurant’s owner, Joseph Ysco, announced on Facebook on Saturday night: “Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances, Joe’s Back in the Day will not be reopening after all! … God willing it will happen in the near future but not as soon as I expected.”

Joe’s Back in the Day, at 321 E. Route 66 Blvd., served Mexican and American dishes. It closed two years ago when Ysco had to undergo surgery and suffered complications that included balance problems.

During a phone interview shortly after his announcement Saturday, Ysco said the chef he’d recruited to run the restaurant backed out because his Albuquerque landlord wouldn’t let him out of his residential lease.

Ysco previously announced in late March the restaurant would reopen sometime in May.

“It hurts me I can’t open,” Ysco said. “But there’s nothing I can do about it. If I can find another chef, I’ll reopen as soon as possible. If I wasn’t sick, I’d open it myself.”